When Harry and Hermione reached Hogwarts, they went straight to their common room; they needed to talk about what had happened at the hospital. They sat on the settee, which was beside the fire. They could feel the heat radiating from it and they curled up together. Harry’s arms were wrapped tightly around her waist. Hermione’s head was on his shoulder and she was lying on top of him. They wanted to be as close as possible. Ever since the Eros charm had been cast, they felt the need to hold each other, to be close to each other.
"Hermione, do you feel ... well, feel like you have to be near me and touching me all the time? I feel that way about you. Even when I know you are right beside me, I still need to hold your hand or put my arm around you. Is it just me? Do you feel the same?"
"Harry, I do feel the same -- when I am not touching you, I need to feel your skin on mine, feel the warmth of you."
"Does this mean we have to be together all of the time? Is this what the Eros charm does to people? I mean, what happens when we have different lessons, when we go to bed, when we go to the toilet and when you want to go to the library and I want to play Quidditch?" Harry's voice was filled with fear. He did not know how he and Hermione were going to live through this.
"I don't know," Hermione frowned. "We need to tell Dumbledore all of this, we need to talk to him. But not now. I just want to be with you, to talk to you." Hermione was also worried, she could tell Harry was, too. But they had to be strong. They would be strong, she knew, because they would be together -- they could get through anything as long as they had each other.
"Hermione, I love you with all my heart," and with that, Harry pulled Hermione into his chest.
"I feel the same, you know," Hermione sighed. "You know all my fears, thoughts and ambitions ..."
She furrowed her brow as another thought hit her: "Oh, Harry! What about exams and classes? Since we share everything, you can help me on exams ... We can talk to each other and get answers ... oh, what will happen?"
"Hermione," Harry chuckled, "it will be me asking you for answers, not the other way around." He shook his head -- leave it to Hermione to think about exams.
"I heard that!" Hermione pushed him playfully. "What do you mean, 'trust me to think about exams?' Someone has to -- it's our future!"?
“Sorry! It’s going to take some time before I realise you can hear everything I say in my mind.” With that, Harry took hold of Hermione’s waist and turned her round so she was facing him. He then put his puppy dog face on and smiled at her. All the while he was staring aimlessly into her chocolate brown eyes; becoming lost in the sea of chocolate. You know I cannot stay mad at you when you do that, she thought. Harry just laughed as he heard what she said -- as if he were speaking to her.
“Hermione, do you really forgive Ron? ... I know we said we did, but I don't know if I can. Yes, he was my best friend but he beat you up … He actually beat you up. Will I ever be able to leave you two alone again? I can’t lie; I don’t know if what I said was the truth or just because I would not be able to live with myself if he died.” Harry voice was full of fear … fear of not being able to forgive his best friend.
“Harry -- I feel the same. I am hoping that once we talk to him, when he is conscious, I will be able to forgive completely. After thinking about it -- I feel that I just said those things so he did not die and while in the process deluded myself that I could forgive. I have this feeling in the pit of my stomach, which tells me I cannot. I tell myself that he was just upset. But, then, what if I upset him again; how do I know he will not do it again?” As Hermione said this tears began to flow down her cheeks.
She truly wanted to forgive Ron, but she did not know if she could. Would she be able to trust him as she once had? Part of her was saying yes, and that it would take time. But the other half was saying no, and that no matter how long she waited, she would never be able to trust him.
“Hermione," Harry started after hearing her thoughts, "I think we have to speak to him … see what he has to say when he is better and when he realises what he has done. However, I do have to say if you can't forgive him, I do not blame you … Come here.”
Hermione was now crying bucket loads. Harry kissed her forehead and cuddled her until she had stopped crying.
“Let’s not talk about Ron until we have to. Just enjoy the summer and enjoy each other’s company Hermione.”
“I agree.” Hermione was starting to feel better. It was funny the impact Harry’s touch had on her. She felt like she was the only person alive …the only person who mattered at that moment in time. She had never felt like that before. Her life before Hogwarts was lonely; she had no friends. All the other boys and girls her age on her block had thought her a bookworm. But now she was in love; in love with the best person she knew -- and he actually loved her back. It was like a dream, and she sometimes felt as though she were going to wake up any moment and find she was again a loner …
“Hermione, you know you should not feel like that. No one sees you as a bookworm… you are Hermione the most beautiful, charming, loving and intelligent person in this school,” Harry’s voice was full of confidence, and Hermione could not help but believe him. She knew she should not feel like this but it felt too good to be true.
“Hermione, would I be able to do this if it was a dream?” Harry leaned forward very slowly and kissed her, very softly and romantically on the lips. Hermione melted and knew she was not dreaming. You could not feel this in a dream; you only feel like this when you meet your one true love.
They lay their in each other’s arms for hours, content holding each other. Just being together made them happy. They heard someone enter the common room -- it was Dumbledore.
“Harry, Hermione,” Dumbledore’s voice was soft and his eyes were glowing behind his half-moon spectacles.
“I sense that you have questions to ask me. Feel free to ask away. There is also something I have to say, but you can go first.”
“Professor -- you said that our minds are linked, do we have to be together all of the time? When we are not touching each other, we feel the need to … I feel the need to have him close, to feel his skin, his warmth. Harry feels the same way; this could cause us problems like lessons, sleeping, toilet, Quidditch, library, exams and jobs,” Hermione’s quavered as she reeled off the list. It was clear to Dumbledore she feared what might happen to them.
Dumbledore sighed, for he knew they would have many obstacles to overcome, and he knew he had a lot of explaining to do. He drew in another breath before he began:
“Hermione, Harry -- I am not saying it’s going to be easy. Far from it, it will be difficult for a few months until you can control it. However… there are problems that cannot be solved. You mentioned sleeping arrangements, for example. I am afraid you will have to share a bed from now on. You see, the charm is at its most powerful when you are asleep; the bond is made stronger, energised if you will. Once you have been asleep, you will find the need to touch each other and be with each other would have decreased. However, as the day progresses you will feel the urge to touch the other increase. There is no way to get around this.
"This leads to another point. You will have to choose the same career; this may cause problems, as Harry, you wish to become an Auror, but you, Hermione, wish to do something else. You will both have to agree upon a job you want. As for lessons … as long as the lessons you are separated from each other for are in the morning, there will be no problem. I have already modified the timetable.”
Harry and Hermione both smiled at each other; they knew Dumbledore was going to do everything within his power to help them. This was a comforting thought, as Dumbledore was the most powerful wizard in the world, after all.
“Other things, like Quidditch and the library can be overcome … as I said, as long as you have been asleep or been with each other for a few hours beforehand, you will have no problems. However, you should know this; your minds will be forever connected. If you are in different lessons, you will know what is happening in two places at once. This is a hard concept to grasp. If Hermione is in Ancient Runes and you are in Divination, Harry, you will know what happens in both … You will have to learn to cope with this. It can be done -- once you have mastered Occlumency at a high level, you will be able choose what you want to know and what you do not. This is not to say you can block the other out, but rather you can choose what you listen to, if that makes sense. The connection is always there, until the day you die … Nevertheless, for a few hours you will be able to block out the other person’s thoughts. Again, as the day progresses, it will become harder to do so.
"Oh, and as far as exams go, Miss Granger, it is not technically cheating.”
Hermione drew a sigh of relief. At least she was not going to be kicked out of her exam for cheating. Harry stifled a laugh when he realised what she had thought.
“Harry James Potter! Do not start again!” Hermione raised her voice. Dumbledore looked bemused.
“Oh -- sorry professor … just something that happened earlier.” Hermione blushed and asked him to continue.
“As you share everything, you are not cheating, because the knowledge could be Harry's or it could be Hermione's -- there is no way of telling. It is simply impossible to detect that this is taking place.”
Dumbledore was interrupted again, this time by Harry.
“Could you tell us more about the link between us? How does it work? Why don’t our brains just explode from the information?”
Dumbledore chuckled, though he could tell Harry was frightened at the prospect of his brain's exploding; it was evident in his voice.
“Yes professor, I have read of people trying to gain so much knowledge their brain melts down and can’t cope,” Hermione interjected. Harry was now even more worried; he was beginning to panic. Hermione could tell and tightened her grip on his hand to comfort him, as she did not know what the answer would be. They were both sitting there looking at Dumbledore for an answer.
“You are correct, Hermione,” Dumbledore said.
Hermione started to cry into Harry’s shoulder. He did not know what to do; he was perplexed he could not move.
"But, Miss Granger … please let me finish,” Dumbledore said this with an air of seriousness that made both Harry and Hermione listen intently.
“People in the past have tried to gain lots of knowledge, and yes, the brain can just shut down. However … there is a great difference here. You have two brains that are communicating with each other on many levels. When I say you can choose what you listen to, I mean you can choose what your cerebrum processes. Your brains will still be linked but you will not realise it, as it will be subconscious -- it is like breathing, you breathe without knowing it. As I have already said, you can stop your consciousness from receiving information, but this cannot be done for an indefinite period. It depends on how long it has been since you have been together and how strong you are at the time.
"As for your question Harry, the link between your brains is peculiar: It is like it's naturally unbreakable. you This lets information flow twenty-four hours per day. Nevertheless, you will learn to cope, it does not have to be a burden or weakness. With the correct training -- which I will give you over the next few months -- it will make you both stronger.”
“What sort of training do you mean?” Harry said, looking straight into Hermione’s eyes.
“You will have to master Occlumency, which I will be teaching you both. Furthermore, you will have to learn to fight. As I told you at St. Mungos, both you and Hermione will have to defeat Voldemort together. To do this, you will need to know advanced magic and fighting skills … The Occlumency will start tonight at six o'clock. It is very important that you master this before Voldemort enters your mind. He cannot know about the Eros charm. In fact, it is your biggest advantage.
"I must go now, but I will return at six o'clock sharp. It is now five past one. Please get some sleep -- you will need it. Oh, by the way you cannot tell anyone about this. It is crucial to your success that no one finds out. Everyone thinks it was me protecting you, and they have no reason to doubt it.”
“Yes, professor,” Harry and Hermione said in unison. Some of their fears had been quashed, although they were not sure what the future had in store for them.
“Oh one more thing -- if I find out you have been participating in, ahem, extracurricular activities, I will have to inform your parents.”
Both Harry and Hermione blushed profusely as Dumbledore left.
As Dumbledore walked out, Harry thought of how simple his life was before Voldemort had entered his mind. He was in love with Hermione, the one person who mattered to him. Now they had the Eros charm linking them, which would cause them troubles. It would take lots of effort and a long time until they achieved a degree of normalcy. Furthermore, he had dragged Hermione into his battle with Voldemort. His lovely Hermione, the one person he loved had been dragged in.
“Harry do not blame yourself … I know we have hard times ahead, but as long as you are by my side, I know I will be all right. You are the only person who matters. I love you and I would not trade that for anything. You know I mean it. Yes, it will be hard … and we will have to face him together, but I would rather be with you than somewhere else worrying about you all of the time. All that matters is that I love you and you love me. With that we can get through anything.” Hermione’s voice was stern and she was staring at Harry.
“Hermione, I love you, too ... I just feel responsible for getting you into this.”
“I have told you -- don't feel that way. It's fate, Harry," she was emphatic. Then she softened, "Now come on let's go to bed. We need our rest before we have our Occlumency lesson with Dumbledore.”
With this, Hermione leaned close to Harry and kissed him passionately, their lips were locked together; Hermione was nibbling on his bottom lip. He opened his mouth and she slid her tongue in and could feel his tongue touching his. She was exploring his moth and he was hugging her tightly. They broke apart and felt like nothing else mattered, as long as they could be with each other they could get through anything. They just lay on the settee and fell asleep in each others arms. It felt so natural to them, like had being doing it for years.
Authors note:
This story has nothing to do with J.K. Rowling or Warner Bros.
Again thanks to everyone who has reviewed. Please continue to review! I would also like to say a big thanks to Steph (moderator), as she has helped me clean up some of the dialog after the chapter was rejected. Therefore, this would not be here if it were not for her. So a big thanks!