Author's Note:
As always, lovely reviews. Thank you!
It may not be as H/Hr as some of the last few parts, but remember, I'm taking this slow. :)
And now some bad news. :( I'm going away for the weekend so these daily updates are going to be put on hold. I will be able to write some though and hope to have the next chapter out sometime Sunday.
This chapter takes place during `A Very Frosty Christmas' Chap. 16 in HBP. There are some lines that are word for word, others are changed a bit. I don't know if that means I need a disclaimer or not, but if so:
Disclaimer: The characters in this story are not mine, I'm merely borrowing them for a bit.
Enjoy!
If Harry thought he was going to get any sleep that particular night he was quite mistaken. After everything that had happened that day it amazed him that he was still able to function. Hermione's many many changes in mood were hard to deal with. Not that he faulted her for having them, quite the contrary he didn't know how she was even able to put one foot in front of the other right then, but because it was so hard to watch her hurt and not be able to do a damn thing about it.
He would be lying if he said that her words earlier hadn't tore his heart out. He knew she was just speaking out of fear and frustration, but there had to be some truth to it or she wouldn't have said it. He could still hear her accusation ringing in his ears `Funny how Harry Potter can save everyone else but me.' He shook his head sharply in an effort to rid himself of the memory.
Sighing heavily he rolled onto his side and stared out of the crooked window. Frost had edged the panes and there was a decided chill on the upper floor of the Burrow, he pulled his blanket tighter underneath his chin. He still didn't know what possessed him to kiss her. What had he been thinking? She was just days out from being physically attacked, she was his best friend and they were on the brink of war. His timing was about as bad as it could be. But he hadn't been thinking, it just felt right and he couldn't honestly say he regretted the act, just maybe the consequences.
The talk with Remus and the others hadn't gone as well as he had wished either. They were cautious about Malfoy and Snape, but no one wanted to tell him anything concrete. Just kept repeating that if Dumbledore trusted Snape he should as well. That was a hard pill to swallow. When they returned to Hogwarts he planned on having a long talk with the headmaster about Snape and Malfoy had better not even think about stepping foot inside the castle walls again.
As he laid there he faintly heard as the clock chimed the hours. He hoped that Hermione had been able to sleep without having nightmares tonight. And he eventually drifted off himself.
Ron's exclamation of "She's got to be joking!" woke him from a restless sleep.
He sat up, blinking and reached for his glasses before looking over at his best friend to see him holding up a thick gold chain with the words `My Sweetheart' hanging off the middle.
"What is that?" Harry asked, not bothering to hide his amusement
"It's from Lavender, guess she sent it before we broke up." Ron was still staring at the necklace in amazement
"Did she really think I would wear this?" he asked, more to himself than to Harry.
"I dunno mate, I think it looks nice." but Harry wasn't able to keep a straight face.
The bottom of his bed was covered in packages of all sizes and for a moment he let himself forget everything that had been happening and dug in with glee.
There was, of course, a new sweater knitted by Mrs. Weasley. This years had a large golden snitch worked into the front. Fred and George had given him a box of their finest and there was a small, poorly wrapped package from Kreacher. He swore it moved by itself and he chose to just toss it.
He looked over at Ron and saw that both of them had what appeared to be the same package, wrapped in the same paper. Presents from Hermione.
They exchanged sly looks and then tore into them with vigor. But when Harry saw what she had given him he froze. It was a picture frame, heavy silver but obviously magical as it had a golden snitch chasing around the outside of the frame with a small keeper on broom forever in chase. The picture was of all three of them, taken during a D.A meeting last year. He vaguely remembered Colin asking them to pose and Ron making some smart arse comment that got Hermione riled up but when it was time to take the picture they actually all behaved. Hermione was in the middle with both of the boys arms wrapped around her shoulders and they were all smiling broadly. Because it was a magical picture occasionally Hermione and Ron would quarrel for a bit but then she would smack him and they would once again be smiling. He stared at it for a long time before looking up and seeing that Ron had also been affected by the thoughtful gift.
"Good picture, eh?" he said, holding his up and Harry could see that his frame had a keeper defending the hoops.
"Yeah, definitely a good picture." Harry carefully placed the frame next to his bed.
He watched Ron do the same before turning back to him with a grin "Want to see what everyone else got?"
"Let's go!" Harry yelled and gave Ron a shove as he bolted for the door first.
"Oy! That's playing dirty, Potter." Ron yelled as they clattered down the stairs in their pajamas
"All's fair, Weasley." he shouted back and swung down the last six stairs and skidded into the kitchen, Ron almost crashing into him from behind as the rest of the house looked on in amusement.
Harry looked around and found Hermione leaning against a counter, one hand wrapped around a tea cup the other wrapped around her middle as she laughed so hard she was shaking.
He caught Ron's eye and gave him a wink "I think we need to properly thank our best friend for her lovely, thoughtful presents, don't you?" with a devious cant to his voice
Ron caught on immediately and began to stalk towards Hermione "I think that's a smashing idea."
Hermione was wiping a tear from her eye and saw them advancing on her. She quickly sat the tea cup down and held her hands up in front of her "What do you two think you're doing?" she asked in mock indignation and then they were upon her, tickling and laughing as she shrieked and screamed and tried to get away from them. "Get off of me you oafs!" she yelled, with a wide grin on her face but her words struck him and for just a second he stilled and thought about how their actions may have made her uncomfortable and remember being paralyzed. She must have felt him pause because she caught his eye and he nodded, understanding that she was okay. They ended up in a slightly strange three person hug before she somehow managed to duck down and crawl out from underneath them, leaving only Ron and Harry with their arms around each other.
The twins of course let out howls of laughter and even Fleur was seen giggling behind a dainty hand.
"Alright! Alright! Thats enough!!" Molly yelled over the din, trying to regain control of her brood "Get out of my kitchen or there won't be any breakfast for you lot."
That was all she had to say and the kitchen was cleared in mere seconds.
They once again congregated in the living room, but the mood was much lighter than the night before. Hermione sat in what he was beginning to think of as `her' spot and he plopped down on the floor in front of the couch, allowing Ron and Ginny to have a seat.
`Thankyou's' were being passed around and Ginny was showing off a pendant her parents had gotten her.
Harry craned his neck around so he could see Hermione "Thanks for the picture and the frame, `Mione, it's fantastic."
"You're welcome. Colin showed it to me when we came back this fall and I asked him to make copies."
He noticed she had pulled a letter out of her robe pocket and seemed to be studying it.
"Everything okay?" he asked, nodding at the letter.
"Oh this? Yes, it's from my parents, they want me to come home at the end of the week and spend New Year's with them."
He was quiet, the thought of her being gone for a week, where he couldn't see that she was ok, that he couldn't be there if something went wrong...he didn't like that one bit.
"How do you feel about that?" he asked, keeping his voice neutral
"I don't know." she answered honestly "I want to see them. But...I'm worried...about leaving y..."and her face flushed "I mean...I'm worried about leaving here."
"Well whatever you decide I'm behind you 100%"
"Thanks Harry." she said with a smile and then Ginny came to drag her away to help in the kitchen.
The rest of the day was spent purposely avoiding anything to do with Voldemort or Death Eaters or anything that was remotely negative. Molly had prepared an early dinner and they all sat down in their brand new Christmas sweaters to enjoy a delicious meal.
Hermione was quiet but she looked somewhat at peace, not anxious or upset. Harry was kind enough to bring up Lavender's present to Ron and everyone at the table got a good laugh at his expense, including Hermione.
Suddenly the normal meal chatter was interrupted by Molly "Arthur!" she rose from her chair and clutched a hand over her heart, her view fixed out the window "Arthur! It's Percy!"
"What?!"
Everyone clamored to look out the window and see if she could possibly be correct. But sure enough, there was Percy Weasley striding across the front lawn, however, he wasn't alone.
With him was Rufus Scrimgeour, the Minister of Magic.
Percy opened the door and stepped in, "Happy Christmas, Mother." he said cooly and Molly screeched and threw her arms around him. No one else at the table said a thing. Harry looked at the rest of the Weasleys and was not surprised to see stoney faces.
Percy stood woodenly and waited as his mother hugged him but made no move to hug her back. Git.
"Forgive the intrusion, please." said the Minister "We were in the area and Percy said how much he'd like to drop in and see you all."
Harry thought that this was highly unlikely.
Percy didn't bother to greet the rest of his family, nor they he. Harry shot Hermione a look and saw that she was studying the Minister but she slid her eyes to him and gave him a nod to confirm his own suspicions-he was up to something.
Molly fluttered and flustered, trying to get them both to join the table, but the Minister turned her down, claiming that he didn't want to intrude and had only come with Percy by chance.
`Yeah, right.' Harry thought.
"Well, I thought I might have a walk about the garden, we only stopped in for a few minutes. Perhaps someone could show me around." Scrimgeour said looking down the table until his eyes landed on Harry "Ah, perhaps this young man, he seems to be done."
The room was completely quiet, a rare occurrence for the Burrow in the middle of the day. Everyone could see through his charade. Everyone except for Molly, of course. They had come here so the Minister could talk to Harry.
He heard Hermione's breath hitch next to him and he took his time chewing his last bite of food and wiping his mouth before laying his napkin down. "Yeah, all right." he said, locking eyes with Scrimgeour.
As he started to rise Hermione's hand shot out and covered his. He turned his palm up and gave her a squeeze, "I'm sure." he whispered to her unasked question.
He passed behind Lupin who half rose from his seat and Mr. Weasley who looked like he was about to speak "It'll be fine." he said to both of them and he walked past the Minister, reaching out to grab a coat from the rack by the door, pulling the same one Hermione had worn the night before.
Scrimgeour followed him out and they walked in silence for a few minutes. Finally Harry stopped and turned to him. "What do you want?"
The Minister seemed taken aback by his abruptness "Why, whatever do you mean?" still playing his part.
"You know who I am. And I know you've been wanting to meet with me. Why?"
His mask slipped just a bit, he nodded "I've been wanting to meet you since I took office, but...Dumbledore has prevented this."
Harry was silent.
Flustered, Scrimgeour started again. "There have been rumors, I'm sure you're aware, well, that you're `The Chosen One'."
"Have there?" Harry said, a touch of sarcasm in his voice
The Minister continued as if he hadn't heard. "Of course it doesn't matter if you are or not, just that you are perceived as such."
Ah, Harry thought, here we are. The real reason. Much like Fudge, Scrimgeour didn't care what the truth was, just what people thought it was.
"I really don't know what you mean, Minister." he said innocently
Scrimgeour was good, he had to admit. He kept going on about the good of the wizarding community, about how much it meant to give people hope at times such as these and about how helpful it would be if Harry could just do him this small favor and be seen coming and going from the Ministry occasionally.
The suggestion that he would willingly work with the likes of Scrimgeour and Umbridge was enough to make his blood boil.
"So basically, you'd like Harry to give the impression that he was working for the Ministry." came Hermione's chilly voice from behind them. She stepped up to his side and held the Minister in her gaze.
Scrimgeour, to his credit, didn't seemed fazed by her appearance. "I'm sorry, my dear, but I had wished to speak to Mister Potter alone." he said, in a most patronizing tone.
"Minister. I don't believe you've had the pleasure. This is Hermione Granger, my best friend, top of the class at Hogwarts and brightest witch of her age." Harry said, enjoying the slight flush that crept up her neck at his words. He knew how much those monikers annoyed her.
"Miss Granger." said the Minister, not hiding his displeasure very well.
And then Harry leaned in slightly as if sharing a secret "Oh, and she's Muggle-born." not disappointed when the man jumped a bit, although it did get him an elbow in the side from Hermione.
"Yes, well..." Scrimgeour stammered, but Harry cut him off.
"Hermione stays or we're done talking." he said, forcefully
The Minister gave the slightest of nods. "Very well then. Like we were discussing." he said pointedly "Unity is very important."
"But if I'm seen at the Ministry won't people think that I approve of what's going on there?" he said innocently
"Well yes, partly, but..."
Harry cut him off. "No, I don't think that will work. I don't like some of the things the Ministry is doing."
Immediately Scrimgeour's whole attitude changed. He had realized his tactic was no longer working. "I wouldn't expect you to understand. These are complex issues we are dealing with and you're just a sixteen year old wizard who..."
"I understand perfectly well, Minister." Hermione said in a falsely sweet voice. "You want Harry here to be the poster boy for the Ministry. You don't care if he is or isn't `The Chosen One'. You don't even care if he lives or dies. You just want people to think that you have one bit of an idea of how to deal with Voldemort and you want Harry to stand up and do your dirty work for you, and damn the consequences."
Harry just stared at her for a long minute. She was in her element here. Not many people would have the courage or conviction to talk down to the Minister of Magic but she didn't seem to care.
Scrimgeour didn't know what to make of her. His mouth flopped open and he looked quite like a drowning fish for a moment before he gathered himself back together. "Can't even speak for yourself, Potter. Hiding behind Dumbledore and this...girl."
Harry just smiled at him. "If you want to call it that. But Dumbledore and `this girl' are the two people I admire most in the world and I respect their opinion."
"I don't suppose you'd tell me what Dumbledore is up to when he leaves the school."
"I have no idea what the headmaster does on his own time." Harry answered truthfully
"And you wouldn't tell me if you did, would you?"
"No, I wouldn't."
"Well, I suppose I will have to try and find out by other means." and there was no doubt that the Minister's voice held a warning.
"You can try." Harry said in an icy tone he didn't quite recognize as his own. He noticed that even Hermione had turned her head towards him as he spoke.
Scrimgeour held his gaze before narrowing his eyes "Dumbledore's man through and through, aren't you Potter?"
And Harry smiled "Yeah, I am." He turned and grabbed Hermione's wrist "Glad we straighten that out." and they walked away, leaving the Minister of Magic behind them.
They didn't go straight to the house though, he didn't want to risk running into Scrimgeour again. He led them through the trees to the small pond, frozen over now for the winter.
Harry brushed a small layer of snow off the bench and they sat.
Hermione turned to him and he saw that her eyes were sparkling "You were amazing, Harry!"
He smiled "You were too. You know you just told off the Minister of Magic, right?"
She blushed and dropped her eyes. Her cheeks were rosy from the cold and he realized she had come after him wearing only her new lilac colored sweater.
"Here." he said and stripped off the borrowed coat he was wearing and dropped it over her shoulders.
She began to protest but he cut her off "I'm not cold, really." and he wasn't, the experience with Scrimgeour had got his blood boiling.
She smiled in thanks and pulled the folds of the coat around her.
They were both lost in thought "Ministry's getting worried, aren't they?" she said
"Seems that way."
"They have no clue what we're up against." she said softly.
"Not in the slightest." he answered.
Just then they heard a commotion behind them and turned, peering through the bare branches they could just make out the Minister and Percy leaving the Burrow. Scrimgeour was obviously upset and they couldn't make much out beyond Percy's profuse apologies.
"Ready to head back?" he asked "I think it's safe now."
They could hear the din as they approached the door and walking in they were hit with a wall of noise. Everyone was shouting or gesturing, red faces to match the red hair.
Like a switch had been flipped it was silent, all eyes turned towards Harry and Hermione.
"What happened out there?" Remus asked
"Hermione told the Minister to go stuff himself. What's for dessert?" he said and made his way back to his chair, enjoying how the entire room took a collective gasp of air.
Hermione shrieked in indignation "Harry! How could you!"
Molly clasped a hand to her chest. "Surely not!"
The twins roared in laughter "We always knew you had it in you, Hermione." one of them shouted.
Ron pretended to wipe a tear from his eye. "Thats our girl." he said proudly.
Hermione was getting madder by the second and he was loving it. "I did no such thing! Harry! Don't lie!"
He scooped a giant helping of pudding on his plate and took a bite before pointing his spoon in her direction "Well, actually, you kinda did. And I quote `You want Harry to stand up and do your dirty work for you and damn the consequences'. It was quite brilliant." he said smiling broadly.
Hermione sputtered before finally sinking down in the chair next to him "Well...I suppose I did then." she admitted and everyone howled in laughter.
When everyone had their plates filled he told them what Scrimgeour had wanted.
But as amusing as it had been, the information also had a sobering affect. "The Ministry is worried." Remus said, gravely
Harry nodded. "Did you know they were this..."
"In this much denial?" he finished "No, not really."
They finished their dessert in silence.
The next few days were mostly quiet. Harry tried his hardest not to treat Hermione any differently but it was difficult. He could tell she was doing better, but she still had dark circles under her eyes and would occasionally become jumpy.
He played Quidditch with Ron and the twins. Bill and Fleur had left on Boxing Day to visit her family in France. The evenings were spent over a chess board. He felt he owned Ron a few hundred games to make up for the last couple of months. Hermione would usually read or work on homework, but he would catch her lost in thought sometimes. She was leaving the next day for her parent's home and he could tell she was getting anxious.
That night he fell asleep before Ron, mercilessly avoiding his snores. He was back in the Department of Mysteries, curses were flying over his head and he, Neville and Hermione were fighting for their lives. He knew what was to come next and he spun in time to see Dolohov fire off his curse. He watched her fall and then Neville was telling him that she was dead.
He sat straight up in bed, chest heaving and covered in sweat. Ron slept on none the wiser.
Harry raked a shaky hand through his hair and peeled off his wet t-shirt. He dug around in his trunk and pulled out the first thing he could find, last years quidditch jersey with his last name across the back.
He knew he wasn't going to go back to sleep anytime soon. Heading for the stairs he crept quietly down the hall until he was in the living room.
Sitting in the corner of the couch, head propped up on her hand, was Hermione. His breath caught in his throat. His dream had been so real. To see her sitting here, whole and alive was...it was wonderful.
When he got closer he saw she was asleep, a book forgotten in her lap. He sat down heavily in the arm chair and just watched her. He had decided he was going to send Hedwig back with her. Between them not being allowed to do magic outside of school and the pretty decent chance that the Ministry wouldn't do much to help her if the need arose he wanted some way to keep connected to her.
"Hey." she said suddenly, her voice gravely from sleep and the thought came to him that he quite liked the way she sounded.
"Hey. Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you."
"It's ok. I wasn't really sleeping." she answered, putting the book aside and stretching her legs out in front of her. "Why are you down here?"
"Bad dream." he said, knowing she would understand.
"Oh." she said softly and bit her lip before continuing "Sirius or me?"
"You." was all he said, seeing her eyes go wide "Except this time you were dead." he leaned his head back and scrubbed both hands over his face.
A touch on his knee brought him back and he looked down to see her crouched by the edge of the chair, the dying fire lighting her from behind. "I'm not dead, Harry. I'm right here."
He couldn't help himself, he had barely touched her in days, standing back and letting her be, but he had gotten used to holding her hand, or her needing him to hold her and he had to admit that he had liked it. He pulled her up onto the chair with him, sighing when she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him back.
"I missed this." she admitted, and he let out a laugh
"Me too." he whispered into her hair.
She scooted in next to him, the two of them sharing the chair as best they could. She let out a sigh of contentment and laid her head on his chest.
"I'm worried about leaving tomorrow." she said ever so quietly as her fingers began to play with the stitching on the front of his jersey. "I do want to see my parents, I've missed them but...I can't tell them what happened. They would probably try and pull me out of Hogwarts." he immediately stiffened at her words. Hermione not at Hogwarts? He couldn't even process such an idea.
She lifted her head and looked at him "Don't worry, Harry. I'm not going anywhere." He looked down and noticed how close her face was to his. He pulled her closer to him, her head dropping back down, in an effort to cover up his reaction. `Now is not the time.' he reminded himself.
"Thats good." he said, his voice only somewhat betraying his real emotions.
They sat quietly, staring at the extinguished fire. "I'm sending Hedwig with you." holding up a hand at her expected protests.
"No. You don't get a say. You can't use magic and I don't trust the Ministry to help you if you need it. At least if you have Hedwig you have a way to contact me if need be." She didn't say anything in response. "And don't think this is me thinking you can't take care of yourself. I'm doing this more for me than for you."
He heard her sniff and wipe a hand across her eye "Thank you, Harry."
"Always, `Mione." he replied and stroked a hand over her hair. He liked how it felt and didn't stop. The repetitive motion was soothing and soon he felt himself start to doze off. He chanced a glance and saw that Hermione's eyes were shut and her breathing slow and even. `Just a few minutes' he thought to himself `Just a few minutes and then I'll go back to my room.'
For once he was having a very pleasant dream, it was sunny and warm and he was walking around the lake at Hogwarts with someone, he just couldn't get a good look at their face. A strange noise was interrupting his solitude though and then the noise came again.
"Ahem!"
Harry slowly opened his eyes and saw the perturbed form of Molly Weasley standing in front of him, hands on hips.
And then he remembered why she was looking at him like that. Hermione was still curled up next to him, asleep on his chest.
"Uh...good morning, Mrs. Weasley." he said sheepishly
"Now Harry dear, I know I am not your mother but you are in my house and there are certain...behaviors that are just simply not allowed." she began and he could tell she was only just beginning.
He had never been on the receiving end of a Molly Weasley dressing down and he didn't quite relish the idea that he was about to find out what it was like.
He cut her off before she could continue "Mrs. Weasley, I'm sorry. I had a bad dream and came down to be by myself but I found Hermione down here and we ended up talking. She's worried about going home today." he explained, hoping Hermione wouldn't be upset that he had talked about her.
As expected though Molly's entire demeanor changed "Oh you poor dears. Of course, of course."
"It's okay," Harry smiled, and he could tell by Hermione's breathing that she was indeed awake.
Molly headed for the kitchen and he poked a finger in Hermione's side, causing her to jump "Thanks for the help, Granger." he said in mock annoyance.
"You were handling it so well I didn't want to interrupt." she said slyly, raising herself up. They were eye level now and she held his gaze "Thanks for last night. And thanks for letting me take Hedwig."
"Anytime." he responded.
"Guess I'd better go finish packing. McGonagall said they would open a Floo connection at my parent's house at ten." she said as she pushed off of him and headed for the stairs.
He sat there for a minute, missing her warmth. What was he going to do without her here for a week?
The next couple hours went by all too quickly. Soon enough Hermione's belongings were piled in front of the fireplace and they had gathered to tell her goodbye.
Harry saw Hedwig land on a window sill and crossed over to her. He held out his arm and she hopped on. He stroked her soft plumage and she nibbled a little too hard on one of his fingers. "Go on to Hermione's house, girl. I'll see you back at Hogwarts." she hooted in reply and took off through the open window.
It was only Harry, Ron, Ginny and Mrs. Weasley to see her off, the others were all back at work. Mrs. Weasley gave her a long hug and told her how glad they had been to have her over the holiday. Ginny was next, hugging her friend tightly. Ron scooped her up into a great bear hug so that once again her feet dangled off the ground. He saw her whisper something into his ear that made his face go serious for a second before he sat her down. She quickly kissed his cheek and then headed his direction.
He held out a hand and she took it. "If you need anything, suspect anything, don't hesitate, send Hedwig, okay?"
"Yes Harry." she said in a slightly mocking tone. But when she saw that he wasn't joking she sobered. "I promise. And it won't be that long, we'll be back to Hogwarts in less than a week."
"Hermione dear, it's almost time." Molly said
"Give us a hug then." she said with a wide smile, "and try not to get into any trouble while I'm gone."
He pulled her towards him, wrapping his arms around her waist. He rested his head atop hers for a moment before leaning down and whispering into her hair "I'm going to miss you." he said, his voice low
She tightened her grip and then turned her head so that her face was hidden in his neck "I'm going to miss you too." she replied, her lips ever so slightly brushing his skin as she spoke, and his heart flipped.
She pulled away, leaving him in a daze. The next think he knew she was already standing in the fire place, trunk and carrier precariously balanced together. Her eyes locked on his before she through the powder, calling out her parent's address. And then she was gone.