Author's Note:
Thank you all so much, for the fabulous reviews, really. The way you stalk to see if I've updated, I stalk to see if there are reviews.
There is a tiny H/Hr moment in this chapter. Very tiny, and I hope you enjoy it but don't get too used to it, I don't know when the next one will be. Remember, we're taking this slooooowwwww.
Ginny was startled out of a sound sleep by something she never wished to hear again, Hermione screaming at the top of her lungs in fright.
She threw the covers off and raced to Hermione's bed. Tears were streaming down the older girls cheeks and she was pale faced and shaking. Her eyes were what were the most frightening, she seemed to be staring at something that Ginny couldn't see. Over and over again she screamed in terror at this nameless thing.
"Hermione!" Ginny yelled and went to grab her friends shoulders but a flailing arm almost caught her across the face. She tried calling her name again but she didn't respond.
Giving up on trying to get a reaction she tore from the room, Hermione's screams chasing her. Down the stairs, across a short landing and up the flight to the boys rooms. She pounded frantically on the door "Harry! Ron! Open up! Please! Harry, it's Hermione!" the next instant the door flew open and Harry didn't even wait to speak to her, his shoulder clipped hers as he darted past and headed back the way she had just came, Hermione's screams echoing off the stone.
When he reached the girls stairs he didn't stop, three leaps and he was at the top so fast the charm intended to keep the boys out didn't have a chance to activate.
He burst through the door and saw her, voice now hoarse, wide-eyed in fright at something that only she could see.
He approached slowly, not wanting to scare her anymore than she already was.
By the time he reached the bed the screams had ebbed to a heart wrenching whimper. He sat very gingerly on the bed, his entire focus on the girl in front of him. Ever so slowly he raised his hand until it touched her shoulder. She started and looked ready to bolt. Three blinks and then he knew she was seeing him now.
"Harry!" she gasped, sobbing harder now and he had no reservations in pulling her in tight for a hug, wrapping himself around her as best he could.
She let him comfort her for a few minutes and then began pushing away, he was confused until her hands began a frantic search of his forehead. She pushed away the dark fringe that was forever in the way until she had a clear view of his scar.
When it was bare she traced it with her finger tip as if in a trance. "Your scar." she sputtered out, "You didn't feel him, did you? You didn't feel Voldemort?"
He reached up and took her hand away, keeping it in his. "No. Hermione, I'm fine. I haven't felt him in a while."
She still had a frantic look in her eye, as if she wasn't quite sure if she was awake or still dreaming. "Promise me you didn't." she demanded, a look of intensity on her face that he had never seen before.
"I promise. Everything is ok, you must have had a bad dream." he assured her, hoping she would believe him.
Her hand came up again to touch his scar and he realized she was the first person he had ever allowed to do so. "It was a dream?" she questioned
"Just a dream." he repeated, glad to see she was calming down.
Her hand came to rest on his arm and she bent her head forward to lay on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her again and just held her.
When he felt her breathing begin to even out he helped her lay back down, but she grasped desperately at his hand "Please don't leave me."
"I'm not going anywhere. Go to sleep."
A soft clearing of a throat caught his attention and when he turned he saw that they had an audience.
Ron had made it up the stairs as well and stood a few feet away, Ginny pressed close to his side, her arms wrapped around her middle. Professor McGonagall was also in attendance and was looking at him expectantly.
"Just a bad dream, Professor." he told her
"I can see that, Potter. Everything in hand now?" she asked
He nodded that it was. "Goodnight then." she said and swept out of the room without saying a word about him being in the girls dormitory.
He took her silence as permission to stay.
"All right there, Harry?" Ron asked
"As it can be." he answered "I think I'll just sit here for awhile, that is if Ginny doesn't mind."
"Not at all." she answered
A thought struck him then, there were no other girls in the room "Where are the rest of the girls?"
"Oh, they got permission to have a sleep over in the Ravenclaw dorm with Padma. I didn't want Hermione to be alone though so..."
"Thanks, Ginny." he said and gave her a tight smile. She smiled in return and headed back to her bed, drawing the curtains around it after climbing in.
"Need anything Harry?" Ron asked
"I'm good mate, thanks."
"I'm going to head back then, unless you want me to stay."
"No, I hope the rest of the night is quiet." Harry said, looking sadly at her now sleeping form.
Ron just nodded and headed back to the boys dormitory.
For a long time he just sat and watched her sleep, but eventually he grew tired himself. There were no chairs nearby however. Finally his need for rest won and he laid across the end of her bed, feet hanging off the side and his arm stretched out so that he didn't have to let go of her hand.
He fell into a fitful sleep and kept seeing the words written on the wall flash over and over in his head.
A bright shaft of light falling across his face woke him several hours later. He sat up slowly and scrubbed his hands over his face feeling just as tired as he had before. Suddenly he realized that he was alone. Hermione was no longer in her bed.
Harry whipped out his wand and tore the covers back searching. Jumping from the bed he spun in a wide arc and took in the rest of the room, Ginny's curtains were still closed.
A soft sniffle caught his attention and he spun to see Hermione, sitting in a small window alcove, arms wrapped around her knees and drenched in the morning light.
She wiped furiously at her face as she saw him approach and gave him a tight smile.
"Hey, Hermione, how are you?" he asked
She smiled again, "I'm alright."
He knew she was lying, he had just caught her crying, he reached out to lay a hand on her arm and gasped at how cold she was, despite the warmth from the sun. "You're freezing."
"Oh...I hadn't noticed." she said distractedly, turning to look out the window.
He took three long strides back to her bed and grabbed the red blanket lying there. She hadn't moved and he wrapped the soft fabric around her, suppressing a shudder as he remembered not too long ago wrapping his cloak around her after she had been attacked.
She didn't say anything at first and then whispered a thanks.
He leaned against the cold stone opposite her so that he could see her face. "How are you really?"
She didn't look up. "I told you. I'm alright."
"No you're not." he said, his words coming out a little harsher than he intended.
She opened her mouth to protest but rethought and didn't say anything.
"You can talk to me, `Mione." he said sincerely "You can trust me."
At this she finally looked up and stared him straight in the eye "I trust you with my life."
Her words did something to him. He felt a swell of emotion and for a moment it was like he couldn't breathe.
Her head turned back. She was silent and he was afraid she was done speaking to him when she suddenly said "Why me?"
"Wha..?" he sputtered, not expecting that.
She had sounded clinical and detached, like it was a puzzle she was trying to figure out. "Why was I chosen? Why did Malfoy have McLaggen do it for him when he could have just done it himself? Why that message? Why now?" she was beginning to sound frantic.
"Hey! Slow down." he said "We don't know yet. But we're going to find out, he's not getting away with this." she nodded at what he had said and then bit her bottom lip, lost in contemplation.
"It's almost like he thought that by hurting me he could hurt you and..." but he cut her off
"Well then he picked the wrong thing." he said, his words betraying no hint of emotion
She looked him wide-eyed and he could see the questions running frantically through her head.
He took two steps forward until she was effectively trapped between him and the window. She dropped her gaze and her cheeks colored rapidly, he knew she had taken his words wrong.
"Hey." he said softly and tipped her chin up, forcing her to look at him "He picked the wrong thing because instead of scaring me and instead of making me run he picked the one thing thats going to make me go after him and fight." he paused a moment and let his words sink in. Her breath caught in her chest and she stared at him expectantly "He threatened you. So if he was trying to scare me, he failed. All he did was make me angry. I will never let him hurt you again."
Their eyes were locked and he would later swear it was the most intense experience of his life. Hermione's breaths were shallow and he was quite sure she had never looked at him like that before. He could not look away, could not blink...he wasn't even sure he was breathing. Right there, in that moment everything had changed, that was when he decided this was a war and like it or not it was up to him to do something about it. If Voldemort wanted a fight he was going to get one.
He found himself leaning in closer to her and she was so still he didn't know if she was breathing either. She licked her lips involuntarily and his stomach flipped. Just as he was reaching a hand out to touch her cheek a voice from behind him made them both jump as if they'd been shocked.
"Good Morning." Ginny said, much too cheerfully.
Harry stuffed his hands in his pockets and took two quick steps back while Hermione pulled the blanket tighter around her and smoothed her hair down blushing furiously.
"Uh....hey, Ginny." Harry said, trying to sound normal and knowing he had failed.
"Everything alright?" she asked with the barest hint of a smirk on her face. There was no doubt she was a Weasley.
"Everything's fine Gin." Hermione said "Sorry if I woke you last night."
"No! It's fine, really." Ginny said quickly, the smirk falling from her face "I just hope you're feeling better."
Hermione gave her a stiff smile and slipped off the ledge. "Well, I guess I'd better finish packing." she said, looking at him pointedly
"I guess I'll just, uh, go then." He said, suddenly feeling nervous "Ron and I'll meet you downstairs, the train leaves in an hour."
"I'll be there." she said and gave him a brave smile, letting him know that she would be ok for now.
He took a step backwards and tripped over his feet, almost landing on his arse. He righted himself quickly and tried to look as suave as possible "I'll just be going now." he said and slipped from the room before he could do anything else stupid. Although, he thought, it was worth it to see the small snicker Hermione tried to hide behind her hand.
A half an hour later he and Ron were waiting in the common room with their trunks. Ron had taken Lavender aside a few minutes ago and they actually seemed to be talking, he was quite sure that was the longest they had gone without snoging since they had started dating.
He waited in front of the fireplace, staring into the dying embers thinking about what had happened earlier in the girls dormitory; both with the decision he had seem to come to instantaneously regarding Voldemort and the weird exchange with Hermione. Seeing her hurt like that had...triggered something in him, he just didn't know what that something was.
He took his glasses off and pinched the bridge of his nose. He was tired, it seemed like forever since he had had a good nights rest, maybe being at the Burrow would help.
He was so lost in thought he didn't hear when Hermione approached. He jumped when she laid a hand on his back.
"Sorry, I didn't hear you." he said unnecessarily.
"Thats ok." she said, sitting her trunk down next to Crookshank's carrier.
He took a glance around the room and saw that every other Gryffindor there except Ron and Ginny were staring at her.
He leveled a glare at most of them and hope she hadn't noticed. "All ready to go?" he asked "Did you hear back from you parents?"
"This morning. They're disappointed but they understand. They would still like me to come home for a few days before classes resume but..." she trailed off, wringing her hands in worry.
He laid a hand over both of hers to still her anxious movements "Hey, we'll worry about that later, ok?"
She gave him a grateful smile and nodded.
Ron headed there way and he didn't look very happy. "You ok, mate?" Harry asked
"Yeah, sure...lets just go." he responded and headed for the portrait.
Harry gave Hermione a questioning look but she just shrugged her shoulders and grabbed up her belongings to follow Ron.
Hermione had to stop to talk to Professor McGonagall and they ended up being the last three to head to the train.
As soon as they stepped onto the wooded path Ron and Harry drew their wands. Hermione didn't seem to notice at first, she had her chin set and was walking purposely towards the train at a brisk pace.
Ron was several steps in front and Harry stayed by her side, scanning the dark depths that surrounded them.
Halfway down the trail Hermione suddenly stopped and Harry went another three steps before he realized what had happened.
"Hermione! What's wrong?" he shouted before jogging back towards her.
Ron had heard his cry and was running back as well.
She was looking at the two of them, confusion and anger apparent. "What are you doing?" she demanded.
Harry was truly confused "What are talking about?"
"You two, with your wands and Ron taking point, like you're bloody bodyguards." she said sharply, gesturing wildly as she spoke, her trunk dropping to the ground with a thud.
Harry stepped closer and put a hand out but she shied away "Hermione. We're just making sure you're safe."
"I don't need you to protect me. I'm fine." she ground out behind clenched teeth. Her hair hung in her face but he could still see her unshed tears.
Harry sighed heavily and looked at Ron who seemed even more lost than he was. He had a feeling this was coming. Hermione was always so strong, always so in control, that reacting to what had happened, in anger, made perfect sense.
Her hands were tightly fisted at her side and she was having trouble controlling her breathing. "I'm fine." she repeated between gasps "I'm fine. I don't need...I don't need anyone to...." and she started pulling at the scarf wrapped around her throat. "I can't...oh gods...I can't...breathe...I can't breathe."
Harry pushed her down on her forgotten trunk and quickly unwrapped her scarf. He grabbed her by the shoulders and forced her to look him in the eye. "Hermione! Calm down. You have to calm down."
She looked at him, eyes scared and blurry with tears "I can't...stop." panic lacing her voice.
He cupped her face in her hands "`Mione, look at me. Look right at me. You're ok. You've got to control your breathing. Just slow down." she nodded and he could tell she was trying to stop.
As her breathing settled he let his hands fall back down to her shoulders. When she picked her head up finally her breathing had evened out but there was something else in her face now.
She shrugged her shoulders in an attempt to get him to let go but he didn't. Wiping her face angrily she glared at him. "I hate this!" she said venomously "I hate that I don't know what happened! I hate that this happened to me! I hate that every time I shut my eyes I see him!" by now she was screaming and his heart broke to see how much this affected her.
"I hate him!" she yelled one more time and pounded a fist on his chest, she kept yelling and kept pounding but each one got weaker and weaker until she fell forward and he wrapped her in his arms.
There was nothing he could say right then that would make her feel better. Ron came around and knelt behind her, laying a supportive hand on her back.
"When we get back to the Burrow you can beat on Fred and George all you like." Ron quipped, grinning when he got his desired reaction and Hermione lifted her head and gave him one of her patented glares.
Just then they heard the warning train whistle, the Hogwarts Express was about to leave.
"The train!" Ron yelled and they all scrambled at once. He grabbed up his trunk and Crookshank's carrier and took off at a run.
"Come on!" Harry yelled, he snatched Hermione's hand, made sure they had all their stuff and then started pulling her down the path.
"We're not going to make it!" Hermione shouted
"We'll make it." he shouted back "Ron's got long legs."
And then he heard the sound of Hermione giggling as she tripped along beside him and he would have gladly walked all the way back to Ottery St. Catchpole.
The whistle blew again and Harry stopped and shot red sparks in the air, hoping Hagrid would hold the train.
When they arrived at the platform a few minutes later red faced and out of breath, Hagrid was indeed waiting.
"Cuttin' it close you two." he said.
Harry just gave him a smile and helped Hermione place her trunk before boarding the train.
They made their way down the narrow corridor looking in the compartments for Ron. There were plenty of empty seats as many of the students had left early. Towards the back they found Ron, Ginny and Neville. Hermione was ahead of him and he felt her hesitate at the threshold. He placed a hand on the small of her back and guided her in to where their friends sat.
She gave Ginny and Neville hesitant smiles and sat across from them, pressed tight against the window. Harry sat in the empty space next to her.
Ron had already found the food trolly and bought an assortment of sweets which he shared with the group.
An hour into the ride Ron fell asleep propped against the window across from Hermione and Ginny and Neville decided to go and find Luna.
Ron's snores were the only sound in the small area and he let himself get lost in watching the passing countryside. A memory from the middle of the night brought him back though. `Why had Hermione been so concerned about his scar? Where had that come from?'
"So" he began quietly so as to not startle her "you going to tell me about that dream?"
She jumped anyways and he winced. "There's nothing to tell. Just a bad dream."
"I've had bad dreams, `Mione. This seemed different." he pushed
She stared at her hands stubbornly. "It's fine. I can handle it."
"I know you can handle it. But you don't have to." he told her "And if it's about Voldemort I need to know."
Her breath caught and when she began to speak he actually had to lean in slightly in order to hear her over the sound of the train.
"I was back in the corridor and I was in pain." her voice caught and she paused for a moment before she straightened up and continued, voice stronger now "I kept my eyes shut because I didn't want to see him. But finally I had to open them and it wasn't...it wasn't McL...it wasn't him...it was Voldemort."
Harry took a shaky breath and let his head fall back on the padded seat. "So thats why you wanted to check my scar?"
She nodded "I don't know why, it just felt so real and it my head it seemed that if he had me, then he had gotten you as well." she shook her head quickly, brown curls flying, as if she could shake away the bad memories.
He looked down at her, studying her face. There were still traces of bruising high on her cheek bone that were obvious to anyone that looked at her. He scooted closer to her until their hips were touching. "I'm right here, and so are you." she slipped her hand around his arm and leaned into his shoulder, nodding.
"I'd like...I'd like to talk to Remus and Mr. Weasley about what happened." he said, not knowing how she'd react and not unexpectedly, she stiffened "Not everything." he said quickly "But about Malfoy and the message. Is that alright?"
She was still "Of course you can tell them, it's important. But I'd...I'd just like to be there when you do."
"I wouldn't have it any other way, you're the brains of this operation, you know that right?" he said with a smile and he felt his heart lift at her next words.
"But where does that leave Ron." she deadpanned
He chuckled and gave her hand a squeeze.
They rode the rest of the way in silence and eventually she drifted off, her head resting lightly on his arm.
Ron woke up with about a half hour to go and gave Harry a questioning look after a spectacularly long stretching session. Harry nodded and gave Ron a questioning look of his own.
"What's with you and Lavender? This is the longest you've gone without having your tongues down each others throats."
Ron colored furiously "Thanks mate." he said darkly "Lav and I are done." and Harry was surprised "I realized I liked the fact that she fancied me more than I fancied her."
Harry really didn't know what to say "Sorry, Ron."
Ron nodded and just then the door to the compartment slid open and Ginny and Neville returned. Harry shot Ginny a grateful look for keeping Neville out the majority of the trip.
They were rapidly approaching King's Cross and Hermione was still sleeping. He hated waking her. His left arm was trapped so he reached across with his right and brushed the hair out of her face. "Hermione." he whispered, giving her shoulder a slight shake "`Mione...we're almost there."
She wrinkled her nose and turned her face into his arm, burrowing there for a second before blinking owlishly at him. "Hey there, Sleeping Beauty." he said lightly and laughed at her withering glare.
She sat up fully and let go of his arm, smoothing down her hair and wiping sleeping from her eyes. He thought it strange that his arm felt so empty after she had let go.
Ginny kept up a steady stream of chatter until the train pulled into the station and they waited a few minutes to let the other students disembark before exiting. Stepping onto the platform was like stepping into another world. For the last two days the three of the had kept themselves isolated and the difference was jarring.
The boys instinctively stepped closer to Hermione who didn't seem to mind so much this time. Her mouth was set in a thin line and she looked like she wanted to bolt.
They gathered their trunks and made their way down the bustling platform. Harry spotted Tonks, looking like a middle aged witch meeting her child at the train. And another auror he didn't know who didn't blend in as well.
"Over here!" came the distinctive cry of Molly Weasley and they looked to see a sea of red hair. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were waiting for them along with Fred and George.
There was a flurry of hugs and kisses and a cacophony of words as everyone seemed to be talking at once. Harry allowed himself to be smothered by Molly's hug, but kept one eye on Hermione where she appeared to be effectively evading being hugged or touched by their welcoming party.
If anyone noticed the bruising on her face they didn't say anything and for that he was thankful.
In the car park they piled into the sedan Mr. Weasley had managed to get from the Ministry. Hermione hastily slid in first, again placing herself against the far side and he made sure he sat next to her. He also noticed that she sat so that her hair hid most of her bruising.
As more and more people climbed in he found himself being pushed closer and closer to her until they were quite squashed together. He gave her an apologetic smile and she just shrugged, not seeming to mind. Finally he put his arm over the back of the seat and gave them a bit more room.
They caught up with Fred and George on the ride back and Harry saw when they noticed Hermione's appearance and more demure demeanor. He caught their eye and gave them a hard look and a shake of his head. George nodded, completely serious for once.
When they arrived at the Burrow Harry felt a wave of contentment pass through him, he always felt at home here. The weather was brisk and the wind had picked up so they rushed inside as quickly as possible.
"Harry, dear, you and Ron will be in his room." Molly said as she bustled around, collecting hats and scarves and gloves. "Hermione, you can share with Ginny, Fleur will join you when she and Bill arrive." everyone pretended not to notice when Ginny pulled a face at this "Fred and George, you're welcome to stay in your old room of course and Bill will take his when he gets here." she took a breath and looked around to make sure she hadn't missed anyone.
As they all broke to put their belongings away he saw Hermione walk up to Mrs. Weasley. She said something to her and Mrs. Weasley smiled and patted her cheek, unfortunately she patted the cheek that had been injured and Hermione jerked away with a hiss of pain.
"Oh, my dear! What has happened?" Mrs. Weasley asked concerned
Hermione's hand covered her cheek and she looked as if she had no idea what to say. Harry stepped in behind her. "She's alright Mrs. Weasley, there was an...an incident at school the other night."
"An incident?" she repeated "Well, whatever could have happened?"
"If it's alright with you we're going to wait until Remus and the rest are here to talk about that." Harry said, as diplomatically as possible.
She seemed to understand and didn't push for more information "Of course Harry." she said and then turned her eye on Hermione "But if you need anything please let me know."
"I will Mrs. Weasley. Thank you." Hermione said softly
"Come on `Mione, lets go unpack." He said and gave her fingertips a tug as they headed up the stairs.
She gave him a shy smile and followed after. When she reached Ginny's room she paused before entering "Thank you, Harry." she said and then slipped inside before he could respond.
He continued on to Ron's room, still papered with Chudley Canons posters and sank down on the camp bed that had already been set up.
"Hermione ok?" Ron asked, haphazardly pulling things out of his trunk.
"She will be." Harry replied before opening his own trunk and busying himself instead of having to think about what lay before them.