Harry and Hermione were sound asleep, naked from the waist up and entangled in each other’ s arms. Hermione wore a contented smile as she slept; she had fallen into slumber feeling truly happy. Harry loved her, and she had no regrets about what she had done with him. She would always admire him for not trying to push her into anything she was uncomfortable with other people would have pushed her, but not her Harry.
When Mr. and Mrs. Granger pushed open Hermione’s door, they could not believe the sight they saw in front of them: Their daughter was in bed naked with her boyfriend.
Mrs. Granger stood stone still -- she was truly shocked. She could not believe that her daughter -- Hermione, of all people -- could be so stupid, and with a boy, she had only been dating for a short period. She could not believe it she would not believe it. He must have forced her, she thought.
‘That little git… he will pay for taking advantage of my little girl. He will never
see her again,’ seethed Mr. Granger from clenched teeth. Horrible thoughts raced through his mind, and became the angriest he had ever been in his life. Without a word of warning, he lunged toward the couple, his face twisted with rage.
Her husband running toward Harry with his fist tightened brought Mrs. Granger out of her trance.
He jerked Harry out of the bed, pushing Hermione aside. Their peaceful slumber was abruptly ended, and Hermione awoke to the sight of her father beating Harry to a pulp. She writhed on the bed with the pain; she could feel the pain Harry was experiencing, and it was excruciating. She did not care that her chest was bare, that her mother and farther would see her. She just had to help Harry. She would not let her father do this she would not let him beat up her Harry. He could not defend himself. For some reason, she knew he had lost consciousness; she could not feel his presence as she normally could. She was screaming with pain and yelling at her father
"STOP! You are killing him and ME! STOP! Leave him alone -- I love him" Hermione's voice was full of pain. She was feeling the most intense pain she had ever felt. The thought of her father causing this pain made it worse. The two people she thought would never cause her pain would have been her mother and farther, but now there was her farther beating up her soulmate -- and hurting her at the same time.
She could not find her wand, but somehow knew what to do; she pointed her hand at her father and said the incantation conglacio and her father froze. Her mother froze also. She could not believe what her daughter had just done. She had just immobilized her father. But all Hermione could think about was Harry. She had to help him. She hoped that the Eros charm would activate when she held him. Slowly she crawled to Harry and lay on top of his body, wrapping her arms around him.
Suddenly a bright gold shimmering light erupted from the centre of Hermione's back and engulfed the pair. As the gold light surrounded them, it created a dome. Both Harry and Hermione were inside the dome, Hermione holding Harry. She could feel no pain; she could only feel happiness knowing that Harry would survive, the thought of what had just happened vanished. The only thing that mattered was recovering. Without thinking, she placed her lips on top of Harry's. His eyes fluttered open; he could only feel and only see Hermione. Nothing else was there at that moment only Hermione and him.
Mrs. Granger stood rooted to the spot. She could not believe what was happening. Her daughter had frozen her husband was she was now in some sort of golden dome, passionately kissing her boyfriend as if she was not there. She could not believe it. As she stood there, eyes glued to the scene, Dumbledore and McGonagall entered the room. The sight shocked them enormously. Neither could find words at first, but both had an idea of what might have transpired.
Within the golden dome, Harry and Hermione were enjoying the feeling of being together. As the dome subsided, they were brought back down to earth. Harry suddenly realised Hermione was topless and stopped her from getting up to protect what modesty she had left. As she realised she had no top on, she blushed and looked from Harry to her mother and the professors. Dumbledore was the first to speak.
"Harry, Hermione, I think you need to get yourselves ready and come downstairs. We need to talk," he said calmly. "Mrs. Granger, please follow me. Your husband will be fine." With that, Dumbledore waved his wand and Mr. Granger vanished; McGonagall shepherded Mrs. Granger out the door, and Dumbledore followed. Harry and Hermione were left alone and utterly embarrassed.
"Harry, I am so sorry for what my father has done. He had no right. No right at all. Thank you," she said, as he handed her a shirt.
"You don't have to apologise for the way your father acted. I don't blame you," Harry gave a small smile of reassurance. "Hermione, I love you and would do anything for you."
Harry pulled her close and slowly brought Hermione's lips to his. The moment they met, a surge of energy flowed through every cell in their bodies. After a few short moments, Harry and Hermione dressed.
Harry could not help but look at Hermione; the sight of her made him feel happy; the thoughts of what were to come evaporated from his mind. All he could think about was her.
"Harry, about last night -- thank you for asking if I was ready. It means a lot to me. I know you want to go further with our relationship but I am not ready." Harry closed the gap between them and held Hermione and whispered into her ear, "Hermione I do not want to push you into anything. When we make love, I want you to have no doubts. I could not live with myself if I knew I had forced myself on you. I love you and am willing to wait. I understand that you need to time adjust to our relationship and me. I will wait as long as it takes. I meant what I said last night."
Tears welled in Hermione's eyes. "Oh, Harry, that is the sweetest thing anyone has said to me."
Harry took a deep breath. "Come on love, we need to get downstairs."
Hermione wrapped her hands around Harry tighter; he had called her love. It was the first time he or anyone else had done it. "Yes, we had better go." They left their room hand-in-hand, not caring what Hermione's parents or the professors would say.
They slowly walked over to a red settee by the fire. Hermione lay her head on Harry's shoulder. They could both see the anger rising again within Mr. Granger and were nervous about what was going to happen.
"Mr. and Mrs. Granger" Dumbledore looked at the couple, "there is an explanation to as why Harry and Hermione are sharing a bed, which we will come to in few moments. However, I must say this: Why did you walk into Hermione's room without knocking? Did you not think of the consequences?" Dumbledore stared at them. The twinkle that usually resided within his eyes had vanished, and he looked angry -- both at their lack of respect and at what Mr. Granger had done.
"You -- you can't seriously blame us," Mr. Granger was incredulous. "My wife and I walk into our daughter's room to find her naked with her boyfriend of a few weeks. And you expect us to be happy ... you honestly expect us to be happy?"
"Mr. Granger please calm down, there is an explanation if you want to hear it, but you must remain calm. I will tell you everything in time, but first we must address the issue of your walking into your daughter's room without knocking. You have invaded her privacy and assaulted Harry. You must see that your actions were outrageous."
"He," Mr. Granger looked at his wife, "he blames us! He actually blames us!"
"Actually, dear, he blames you -- you lost your temper and beat the living daylights out of him without waiting for an explanation."
"What? You agree with him. What about our daughter freezing me, what about our daughter having relations with that piece of scum who puts her in danger?"
"Mr. Granger," said Dumbledore in a stern voice. "This will not get us anywhere. You have to see that what you did was irresponsible. I want both of you to apologise to Harry and Hermione."
"Never," Mr. Granger breathed.
"Well, then, you will not find out the truth. You must apologise immediately."
"Fine! We are leaving. Get your things Hermione; you are not staying here with these people."
The room fell silent. Harry and Hermione looked at each other. How could this happen? It would kill them being apart from each other like that. How would they cope? Dumbledore interrupted their thoughts.
"Hermione will not be leaving Hogwarts."
Harry and Hermione sighed in relief. They would not be parted. They would be together.
"You can't stop us; she is our daughter."
"Yes, she is, but she must stay here with Harry."
"She is not staying here with that pervert. Do you think I will let my daughter near him again?" Mr. Granger could not believe Dumbledore was telling him what do to. Hermione was his daughter and she would go with him if he said so.
"Enough of this! You will come with me, Hermione. That is not a request -- it is an order. Go and get your things!"
"No! I will not leave Harry. I love him ... I love him with all my heart, and he loves me. I will never leave him -- I can't leave him," Hermione surprised herself; she had never talked to her father like this.
"Why you little," Mr. Granger walked toward Hermione, his face bright red with anger. "You will come with us." He grabbed hold of her arm.
"Let go of her arm" Dumbledore said, never raising his voice.
"What are you going to do about it?" Mr. Granger spat.
"I had hoped it would not come to this," Dumbledore sighed, "but, nevertheless." Dumbledore cast an immobulus spell; Mr. Granger could still hear and see, but he could not move.
"Now I will tell you the truth. Some parts of this even Harry and Hermione do not know, so you will have to be patient."
"It all started when Harry and Hermione went to visit their mutual best friend, Ronald Weasly, in hospital. They were attacked by Death Eaters." Everyone in the room could tell that Mr. Granger was dying to say something but could not in his condition. Therefore, Dumbledore simply ignored him and continued.
"As I was saying, they were cornered and were hit by a powerful curse. They were injured and could possibly have been in serious trouble -- that is, until the Eros charm saved them. The charm, as you have, seen activates when they are in danger of dying. It can heal even the most brutal curses and can save the couple that it chooses to help. There is a bright golden dome, full of the love that they share, that surrounds the couple."
Harry and Hermione were shocked; they had not known this; but it did explain why they felt the way they did while they were inside the dome.
"Only two people who are soulmates and love each other purely, in the truest sense of the term, are chosen by the Eros charm. Your daughter and Harry truly love each other. The charm proves this.
"The reason they are sharing a bed is that they are linked. Each knows everything about the other. They share memories, knowledge, fears, ambitions and their love for each other. Right at this moment, they ill know what the other is thinking and feeling. When Mr. Granger was punching Harry, he was not only hurting him, but also Hermione."
Hermione just nodded her head sadly.
"They have to sleep together, as the bond is at its strongest when they are asleep; it energises itself. They will be together for eternity and there is no way of getting around this fact"
Mrs. Granger was shocked, she had never expected this. "So they are linked and love each other and can heal each other?"
"Yes, that is correct. Neither can survive if one is in pain or dies."
Mrs. Granger's face paled. "Do you mean that, if one dies, the other will as well?"
"Precisely. They cannot function without each other. That is enough of this for now. I must talk to Harry and Hermione alone. I will have to ask you to leave." Dumbledore removed the spell from Mr. Granger, and his wife and he left the room -- but not before he glared at Harry to make sure he knew he was not happy about their relationship.
Dumbledore turned to Harry and Hermione, "I am deeply disappointed in both of you."
"But sir, we never -- I mean, we did not ..." Harry did not know what to say
"We did not make love," Hermione blurted it out.
"We had out bottoms on ... just not our ..."
"I get the picture," Dumbledore raised his hands. "I am relieved, but I am still disappointed. There is also something more important to talk about, however. You are no doubt wondering why you were able to freeze your father, Hermione."
Hermione and Harry both nodded.
"Hermione, while you were in training with me, I saw something. I was not sure if it was in you or Harry. I am still not. But you have the ability to use season magic."
"But how can you not be sure? Hermione froze her father, not me."
"That is true, Harry. However, both of you will have the power, as you share everything. Professor McGonagall and myself are researching to find out its source. All I can tell you t the moment is that it had been a very long time since someone has had the ability of season magic along with the Eros charm."
Harry and Hermione looked at each other, they could not believe what was happening. They had season magic -- not that they knew what it was, but they could tell it must be important. The last people to have it also had the Eros charm. This was too weird, even for them
Hermione spoke. "Professor, what is season magic?"
"It is the most powerful branch of magic. With it, you will be the most powerful witch and wizard on earth. But you will have to train hard; it will take time, but we do not have time. Both of you will be put through intensive training to prepare you for your battle with Tom. There is something I have not told you that you should know. I was not gong to tell you, but I was convinced ... otherwise," Dumbledore glanced at McGonagall. "We are quite sure you will have to face Tom this year. We are delaying it as much as possible. I can't go into all the details, but you should know he will come after you. It is vital that you put lots of effort into this. You must train very hard if you want to win."
The anger within Harry was building; Dumbledore had said he was not going to keep secrets from him anymore, but he had. The only reason he told them was because of McGonagall.
"You said you would never keep secrets from me again! You promised!"
Hermione put her hand on Harry's arm. She knew he was hurting and angry, but he could not lose his temper.
"Harry, I understand how you feel, and I am truly sorry. But we must leave. The only thing I can say is that you know the truth, and there is nothing else I am keeping from you. You must believe that," Dumbledore and McGonagall left without waiting for a reply.
After they had shut the door, Hermione broke down. She needed to cry, to let her feelings out about her parents, what happened to Harry and what was about to come. She knew it would be hard, and that they would be pushed to their limits, but they would make it. As long as they remained strong and had each other, they would be fine. The love they share would get them through their love would save them. Harry wrapped his arms around Hermione and held her. He could not think of anything that would make her feel better. Instead he just held her close.
Authors note:
This story has nothing to do with JK Rowling or Warner Bros.
Again thanks to everyone who has reviewed. Please review. A big thanks again to Steph for moderating the story and making some changes for me. I have finished exams and will be updating regularly again.