Harry Potter and The Fight of Logic vs. Love

Chapter 15

A/N: Oh geez~! I haven't updated in so long guys! I'm so sorry! I'll do a triple update today <3

Happy Reading!

Chapter 15: The Summer's End

Next thing Harry knew, he could hear screams and feel people bumping past him as the black spots faded from his vision. His body felt stronger than he did a few minutes ago and could feel the blood pumping through his veins. He stood up and pulled out his wand. Harry ran up the stone steps, feeling the overwhelming surge of adrenaline fuelling his every step. As he rushed in the door he took a quick scan of the area and saw the damage.

On the left of the hall, he could see his friends hiding behind the desks throwing spells across the room. On the right were the Death Eaters, blocking the attempts at disarming them. Harry saw Hagrid lifting chairs and stools from behind the desks and throwing them across the room. He managed to get one Death Eater as he was too busy blocking a spell. Harry watched as the Death Eater crumpled. The fallen person's friends countered with a volley of reductors, causing the desks to shake but not break. Harry took a quick count and came up with seven Death Eaters still standing. As he counted, he saw a group of scared looking families hiding out behind the desks near his friends. He knew he had to act fast.

He brought his wand up as he ran towards his friends, and threw a disarming spell at the nearest Death Eater. The newcomer caught him off guard and he lost his wand. Harry saw that the person next to the disarmed Death Eater had faltered slightly as the spell made contact but didn't take much heed. Harry quickly dove behind the nearest desk, landing next to Hermione. He looked at her, and she looked stared into his eyes. He could see the happiness in hers, and hoped she could see the happiness in his. "Alright Mione?" he asked.

"Now that you're here I am" She smiled at him.

"If you two don't mind, would you please get back to the situation at hand?" Ron yelled to them from 15 feet down the desks.

"I think we need to get those families out first. Hang on." Harry turned and got ready to move. He dove out to the right of the desk, bringing his wand up in front of him. "Protego!" he cried, creating a barrier between the Death Eaters and the rest of the people." He watched as the Death Eaters looked at each other. "All you people down there. Now is your chance to get out of here. Hurry up." Harry called out to the families. He watched as they started to make a move for the door and screamed as the Death Eaters started casting spells again. Harry's shield didn't even shake as the spells repeatedly struck the barrier. Through the bluish shield, he couldn't tell what colour spells were being fired, but he noticed that nothing was able to penetrate it. The families rushed out, muttering thanks as they left. Harry's friends moved out from behind the desks and walked towards the shield. He saw the people across from him smirk as they looked at each other. He saw the Death Eaters raise their wands once more and point at the person across from them through the barrier. He couldn't hear them but there was no mistaking their lips. He saw the bombarda maxima flash across their lips and watched the spells fly towards his barrier. Seconds seemed to slow and Harry felt as though the world stopped. The spells moved towards his shield, and his breathing stopped as the spells were millimetres away from it. As the spells collided with his shield, he felt a huge drain in the power in his body. He stumbled slightly, but saw the spells disappear. His breathing doubled, he could feel his body start aching.

He was shocked, almost as much as the Death Eaters. He looked at his friends and they nodded. "Expelliarmus!" he shouted, lowering his shield. His spell caught one Death Eater and threw him hard into another. His friends had stunned the others as he shot. "Incarcerous" he said, tying them all up. As they finished, he heard McGonagall mutter something, and felt a weight lifted off his body slightly. "What was that Professor?" he asked her.

"That was just the lowering of the wards stopping people from apparating. I was finally able to overcome them." Just as she finished, there were cracks in the air around him. Harry swung his arms up creating another shield charm surrounding his friends. He relaxed when he saw Arthur Weasley along with a dozen other Order members. It seemed that Arthur was just as relieved to see everyone safe.

Harry lowered his charm and felt an overwhelming feeling of being drained. He felt exhausted. He looked around, watching the room spin around him. He could barely hear Hermione talking to him. He stumbled sideways again, and she grabbed him before he fell. He looked her in the eyes. "Thanks" was all he could manage before blacking out.



Harry awoke a few hours later and carefully opened his eyes. Looking around, he saw a mass of brown hair on his shoulder. He realized he was back in the tent at the Burrow. It took him a minute to remember what happened. He found that his whole body was hurting again. At least I know I'm still alive. Before he had a chance to pretend he was sleeping, he felt the hair on his shoulder move. He saw a pair of eyes look up at him and he smiled. Next thing he knew, he was in a bigger bear hug than even Hagrid could muster. "Can't breathe Mione. OW!" He felt like he was going to explode from the pressure. She backed off from him looking sincere.

"Sorry Harry, I was just a bit overexcited that you were awake. We were beginning to worry that you had drained everything out of yourself." She helped him sit up; noticing that he still looked extremely pale. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine Mione. I just don't know what happened. I remember everything that happened, but I don't know why I passed out." He looked at her, and he could see that she knew something.

"Well Mr Weasley explained it to us. He was saying that your powers had matured much greater than the average person. When your power matured, you still had the same mentality of how much effort you needed to put into a spell. Now that they matured, you don't need to use as much energy to cast them. The more energy you put into them the stronger the spell is, but the quicker you burn all your energy. You were able to create a super strong shield charm that was able to block all their spells, but you put way too much energy into it." He remembered seeing the spells stop on his shield. She seemed to know what he was thinking. "I know it seems strange Harry, even I don't understand how it blocked those spells. We should all be dead right now."

"I remember feeling really drained after those spells made contact with the shield" Harry recalled. He remembered stumbling slightly.

"That makes sense. With the amount of power inside you, the shield has more power to tap into. It just takes a lot of power to create a shield that could withstand all those spells. Most people wouldn't contain that amount of power so they wouldn't be able to create a strong enough shield. He says after that, plus the two disarming spells you cast, your power was drained too far. Your body shut down in order to recover. I guess it's recovered enough to let you walk around a bit. How about we go and get some dinner, it will probably do you some good." She smiled at him and he knew he couldn't resist.

"Alright then, let's go inside and grab some food." He stood up with a helping hand and walked out the tent. They didn't make it into the kitchen however.

As they came out of the tent, they were greeted with applause and cheers of "Happy Birthday Harry!" He looked around, frozen in shock. Everyone that was important in his life was standing there, waiting for him to come out. He looked into the crowd, recognizing Hagrid and McGonagall as well as Moody, Lupin, Tonks, Seamus, Neville and even Luna. He couldn't help but smile. I was an idiot to think I could get away from all of them. He looked around, saying thanks to everyone, and just as he finished, Hermione moved closer to him. She gave him a peck on the cheek and wished him a happy birthday and moved off into the crowd. He stood there, watching the retreating form of his best friend until he was jarred out of it by a pat on the back by the twins.

"So are you going to go for it Harry?" George asked.

"What do you mean?" he replied.

"Hermione of course. For the Chosen one he's pretty slow George" Fred directed to his brother.

"What about her?" Harry asked.

"Well you think he would have known since he had feelings for her right Fred? I mean he didn't seem to be faking did he?" George responded to his brother, completely ignoring Harry now.

"What are you guys talking about?" Harry asked.

"Well he sure didn't seem like he was faking to me. I think he really is choosing to ignore it." The twins looked over at Hermione talking with Luna. "It's a shame George. They really do make a lovely couple." Fred and George had their grins and Harry wasn't sure if he liked the looks of it. "Do you think George?"

"I think we should try and help out the budding couple. Should we make a toast to them or something?" George replied.

"No. Too easy dear brother. We need something big. Maybe spelling their names up in the stars? I'm sure we could get one of our fireworks to do that." Fred looked at George.

"Do it and I will hex you into next week" Harry said with a completely calm voice. The twins finally looked down at him.

"Listen to him George. He sounds like the most powerful man on earth." Fred looked at his brother.

"There is a good reason for that Fred. It's because he is the most powerful. He should get some sort of bragging rights." George and Fred both laughed. Harry had to smile. He knew that they could make any situation seem funnier. He remembered back in his second year when everyone thought he was the heir of Slytherin. He had to smile when they walked around in front of him calling out 'Heir of Slytherin, move out his way' and 'seriously evil wizard coming through.' He reminded them of this memory and they laughed. "Maybe we should give him the same treatment?" Fred smiled at his brother's idea.

They pushed Harry towards the tables that were set up. "SERIOUSLY POWERFUL WIZARD COMING THROUGH!" George yelled out. Harry could only shake his head and laugh.

"OUT OF THE WAY! GET IN HIS WAY AND HE'LL BLOW YOU UP! ASK HIS UNCLE'S SISTER, SHE EXPERIENCED IT FIRST HAND!" Fred yelled. The crowd was laughing and joking by the time Harry made his way around to everyone.

By the end of the night, Harry had talked to at least 30 people. He couldn't believe how many people were able to show up. He didn't care about the presents, but he loved the fact that so many people cared enough to come and see him. Finally, at nearly 1am, everyone had left and there was just the Weasleys and Hermione left to open his presents with. The family decided that he should open his own presents and that they would give him the time to do it when he wanted. They all bid him goodnight. Then, there was only Hermione and he left standing with the presents. He looked at her. "Guess we should get these in the tent." When she started to pick up a few presents, he stopped her. "We are wizards you know." He laughed at the look on her face. Without thinking he turned to the tent, pushing Hermione in front of him and holding his hand out behind him to levitate the presents. When they got in the tent, he let the presents fall on his bed. When he turned back to Hermione, she was giving him an odd stare. "What?" he asked.

"Just the way you did that wandless magic without thinking about it. It's impressive."

He stopped and thought about it. He looked over at the table next to the bed he woke up in. Sitting on the table was his wand. He looked around, deep in thought. How? I mean I've never been able to do it that easily. Is it because my powers matured? Am I becoming more like him? Harry thought about it. It made sense. Part of Voldemort was in him, so would it not make sense that with his powers maturing then the Voldemort in him would be able to mature as well. He knew that Voldemort was an extremely powerful wizard, and now Fred and George were calling him the most powerful. Could Voldemort create a shield charm strong enough to block half a dozen maxima curses? Did he have that much power? Harry couldn't stop thinking about it until he felt a hand on his cheek. He stopped the pacing he didn't know he was doing and let the hand guide his gaze. When it stopped, he was looking at the worried face of Hermione.

"Harry? What's wrong?" she asked. Her hand didn't let his face turn away and he was stuck staring her in the eyes. He forced himself to smile and replied.

"Nothing, just thinking about everything that happened today. Don't worry about it Mione. Let's open some presents?" he laughed, but she still looked slightly worried. She knew her best friend better than she let on and she knew that he was troubled about something.

Harry sat down on Hermione's bed and grabbed his wand. He flicked it towards the pile as Hermione sat down next to him and watched as a letter flew up towards him. He didn't recognize the writing and opened it. His eyes started to get wet as he read the few words that were on the card.

To Harry,

Happy Birthday. I wish you all the luck in the future. If you make it back you know how to contact me. Hope you are well.

Love,

Aunt Petunia.

He handed the card to Hermione and she smiled. He had to smile back, because he finally knew that he had family that loved him. He couldn't care less about anything else he got that day; that one thought was enough to make him happy for the next year until his next birthday. At Hermione's suggestion, he grabbed another present with his wand. He was about to open it when she grabbed it out of his hands. "Open that last Harry, it's my present." He smiled and nodded, grabbing another present out of the pile.

For the next 15 minutes they sat together and opened his presents. In the end, he received some new cloaks from McGonagall, some nargle repellent from Luna, a Mimbulus Mimbletonia from Neville, some new seeker gloves from Ginny, some new sweaters and sweets from the Weasleys, a Chudley Cannon jersey from Ron, a new dragon hide suit from Fred and George to match theirs, and a strange looking egg from Hagrid. Seamus and Dean had gotten him a book on the Irish Quidditch team that showed off some of the moves that Harry remembered seeing back in the summer between his third and fourth year of school at the World Cup. Even Lupin and Tonks had bought him a silver pendent with the Gryffindor symbol on it.

The time had come to open Hermione's present. She looked like she was nervous. He gave her a questioning look, but she didn't see it. She was looking anywhere but at Harry as she handed him the present. He took the present, noticing two boxes wrapped together. One was in the familiar shape of a rather large book, while the other was a much smaller box. He decided to open the book first. As he opened the box, he found not one, but two books sitting inside. He pulled out the first book; flipping through it he found empty pages. He looked at her for an answer.

"It's a journal Harry. I picked it up from Flourish and Blotts. As you write in it, the ink disappears. It allows only the writer and the people he permits to read it. Ultimate secrecy. No spells can reopen it and get people to see what you wrote." He thought back to Tom Riddle's diary. He smiled at the idea that his would not suck the life out of the writer. He looked back into the box and pulled out a rather large book of spells. He read the title: 'Defensive Spells with Bite.' He looked at her. "Well those are spells that can be used for defensive purposes. It's for advanced wizards because they can also be used to strike back at the attacker. I'm glad I chose the advanced defensive spells. You seem to have mastered the regular spells." She still refused to look at him. He chuckled when she said it and it caused her to blush even harder. He turned to the small box next to him. It wasn't large; it was even smaller than the box that Lupin and Tonks had given him his necklace in. He wondered what it could be. "Are you going to open it or are you going to stare at the box all day?" she asked with, what Harry noticed was, a hint of anticipation in her voice. He looked at her, noticing that she was finally looking at him. When their eyes met, she quickly turned away as the blush grew brighter.

"There's something inside the box? You mean I don't just get a box for my birthday?" he said with mocked excitement. She smacked his arm without looking at him. He couldn't help but chuckle. He looked back down at the box, carefully untying the red ribbon around the black box. He knew the suspense was killing her, noticing her glances out of the corner of his eye. He continued slowly, wanting to drag this out for as long as possible. As he finished getting the ribbon off, he stopped. "Maybe I will leave this present for tomorrow. I'm kind of tired." He looked at her and received a glare. "Or I could open it now I guess." He smiled at her. He turned back to the present when he continued to receive the glare in return of his smile. He opened the box and saw a small silver disk on what looked to be a small chain. As he looked at the disk, he could see the faint engraving of a four leaf clover. He took it out of the box to get a better look, noticing that it was a bracelet. "Wow. Mione, this is way too much to spend on me. The best gift would have been to just spend the day with me." He looked at her and noticed that the glare was gone; it was replaced by a smile. The blush hadn't faded though.

"Harry, it's like you told me before. You are worth more gold than Gringotts has. This good luck charm should hopefully help you out. I know you don't really need the extra luck, but it never hurts to have too much right?" she told him.

"It's wonderful Mione. Thank you." He embraced her in a hug, not realizing that her thought had brought a tear to his eye. He was gladder than ever that she was his friend. He knew that she would look out for him. He backed away and looked at her.

"So you like it then?" she asked.

"Did you really think you had to ask that?" he countered. She smiled.

"It's not just any lucky charm Harry. It is a goblin made bracelet, and enhanced with a special potion. I think you know a certain gold potion that Slughorn introduced to us last year in class?" she grinned as he realized what she was talking about. "It's not exactly as powerful as if you had drunk the potion, but it should hopefully give you enough of an edge to win against anything that gets in your way."

"Thanks Mione. I really appreciate all this. I love y....... it" Harry had almost said that he loved her. He was so close to letting the words come out of his mouth, but realized that it would be a mistake. He had quickly covered his slip up, but noticed that Hermione gave him a strange look for a split second. She looked as if she was trying to read his mind. He knew that she didn't believe him, but also knew she wouldn't confront him about it. "We should probably get ready for bed" he suggested, and she agreed.

Harry got up and moved across the tent. As he was changing, he reached into his pocket and felt the school letter he was given earlier that day. "Mione, did you ever check out your letter?" he asked. The squeal he got answered his question. "I guess that is a no?" he laughed. As he finished changing into his pyjamas, he was told he could turn around. He went to sit next to Hermione. He watched as she started to open the letter then stopped. She did this a few times before he got fed up. "Do you want me to open it?" At his question she quickly flung the letter over to him. Harry ripped open the envelope and pulled out the letter. He quickly skimmed through it as Hermione watched. Her hands were clutching her face so tightly that she was leaving lines in it.

"What does it say Harry?" she asked timidly.

"It says you've been kicked out of Hogwarts for cheating on your potions test." He looked at her and saw her eyes widen in shock.

"I never-" she started. He laughed.

"What do you think it says Mione?" he said as he grabbed the envelope. He tipped it over and watched as a gold badge slid out. She stopped moving and stared at the badge. "Did you really expect someone else to get it Mione?" he asked. "You're the smartest witch of the age, you were a shoe in. Congratulations Mione." He gave her a hug, and even when she hugged back her eyes lingered on the badge. He put his letter on the side table and got into bed.

"Aren't you going to open your letter Harry?" she asked.

"Not tonight. No real point in reading it. It's just the same letter as before. There is nothing special for me. I just wanted to see the amazing look on your face when you got your badge." He smiled as she moved in next to him.

"Thanks for believing in me Harry. That means a lot" she said quietly as she nuzzled her head into his shoulder.

"I only believe in you as much as you do in me Mione. Thank you too" he said. With that, the pair fell asleep.



The next few weeks passed by without incident. There were reports for a couple days about an attack at Gringotts and how another eight Death Eaters were captured. Everyone praised the Minister for the capture, and he did nothing to deny it. Harry had found a new bond with his best friend, so he really didn't care about what the papers were saying. Hermione and Ginny had made up to an extent, and they could be seen together whenever Hermione wasn't with Harry. Harry was happy that Hermione was helping Ginny get over everything that had happened. He did notice that Ginny went red when a tawny owl would drop off a letter for her. It happened at least two or three times a week.

There were also a couple incidents with Ron that cheered Harry up a bit. It seems that Ron had been caught sneaking out of the Burrow to go meet a certain blonde witch that lived on the other side of town. Harry laughed when he first heard it. Thinking back on it later, he knew that Ron must be over Hermione. Halfway through August, Harry decided it would be beneficial to confront Ron about it. If he doesn't like her anymore, maybe I have a chance. He realized what he had thought. I mean, that could remove some of the tension in our friendship. He knew that he couldn't have a relationship until they were all finished with the war.

Harry walked around the outside of the Burrow, enjoying the sunlight. He couldn't imagine what it was going to be like getting back to Hogwarts. He forgot all the problems that he was going to have to face, and he just relaxed. Over the past few days, Harry had noticed his abilities without his wand were getting better. He looked over at a rock that was nearly 30 feet away. He raised his hand, thinking about a spell. Next thing he knew, the rock was floating five feet off the ground. He smiled, bringing the arm pointing at the rock upwards fast and releasing the spell. The rock's momentum kept it going, arcing high above the ground. Harry waited a few seconds, then brought his other hand up and thought of another spell quickly. He saw the red bolt fly out of his palm and connect with the rock; the rock exploded. He smiled, feeling neither lightheaded nor weak. Hermione had helped him learn to control the strength of the spells he used, and how to make sure he didn't use all the magic in his system. He was getting the hang of it, and each day he was feeling less and less weak after doing more training. He was getting better and sensing things around him as well. The person walking up behind him came as no surprise.

"How's it going mate?" Ron asked as he came up next to Harry.

"Better than you. Did your mum nearly strangle you for sneaking out to meet Luna again last night?" Harry chuckled. He saw his friend start to turn a slight shade of red.

"No, she tried to beat me with her frying pan." Ron shook his head as Harry laughed. "Seriously, I had to hide in my room to stop the pan from beating me in the head. Heard her saying something about knocking some sense into me. It's hard to concentrate with a metal pan flying around your head whacking you."

"So what exactly is going on with you and Luna anyway mate?" Harry asked innocently enough. Ron wasn't fooled.

"Well I really don't know. I mean, it's different then it was for Hermione." Ron noticed Harry stiffen at the mention of the night long relationship. "It's stronger. I don't know why, but I think that I loved Hermione in a different way than with Luna. Luna is strange, but being different is what is appealing. She isn't like the others, she's better than she lets everyone see. I may love Hermione, but I'm IN love with Luna. Do you know what I mean?" He looked at Harry who stopped to think.

"So you really love Luna then? You don't really love Hermione the same way?" He asked slowly.

"No mate, not the same way at all. I can see that I was wrong with the love I had for Hermione. She has eyes for someone else. The love between us is more like me and Ginny. I just didn't see it that way before." Ron looked at Harry and noticed he didn't pick up on the hint. Ron shook his head again.

"Well that's good to hear." Harry said absentmindedly. Ron looked at him.

"Why is that good to hear?" he asked. He saw Harry panic and could see the gears turning inside his head. He was trying to think up a quick excuse.

"Well, uh. I just mean that it's good to hear you're in love. It's got nothing to do with Mione. I just like to see some love come out in a time like this." Harry thought.

"Nothing to do with our best friend eh?" Ron asked. "I think that's a lie Potter. I think you should try that answer again." Ron smirked at him. Harry turned a light scarlet colour.

"Well I mean it has to do with her. I mean that its better she's not with you anymore. I just mean that she should be with someone that loves her the way she should be loved, not that you didn't love her." Harry started to babble. Ron just stared at him before he chuckled.

"Someone like you? Is that what you mean?" Ron watched as Harry paled before his eyes.

"Uh. That isn't what I meant. I just well..." Harry couldn't think fast enough. His excuses weren't working. He knew he had screwed up in this line of questioning.

"Don't worry about it mate. I have no problem hearing that. Yes I loved her for a couple years, but it's changed now. If you care about her like that, just tell me." Harry saw that Ron didn't look upset. He decided on the truth.

"Well I don't know how you would take it. I guess things have kind of changed between Mione and I. Well at least from my perspective. I think that I'm falling for her." Harry hoped that Ron wouldn't explode. He was relieved to see Ron crack a grin.

"Is that such a bad thing Harry?" he asked. He watched Harry relax. "You really are in love with her aren't you?" Ron asked seriously. Harry couldn't speak, so he just nodded in agreement. "I know Ginny may not be happy about it, but I think she will get over it fairly quickly. If nothing else, I know that you and Hermione will be happy together."

"How would you know that exactly?" Harry asked. Ron was caught off guard.

"Uh. I just know. I'm good like that." He grinned, laughing at his own slip up. Harry wasn't convinced. He felt that squirm in his stomach.

"Ron, I already told you about my new found 'ability.' It doesn't do you any good to try and hide something from me." He gave his friend a serious look, and Ron stopped laughing.

"Oh, I forgot about that. Let's just say that I can't say what I know. I've been sworn to secrecy, but I can say that if you knew then you would be quite surprised and really happy. If you love her Harry, you should tell her. She would want to know." Ron was surprisingly forward, and Harry knew that it was the truth. What would he know that if I knew would make me happy? Harry was puzzled, but he wouldn't press his friend to let a secret out.

"Alright Ron, that's much, much better. Don't worry about it Ron, I won't press you any further. I just need to know one more thing. Does this secret have to do with the issue we were talking about between Hermione and me?" Harry waited for the answer, knowing that if Ron lied, Harry would know the truth. It was a simple yes or no answer. He saw Ron shift slightly, thinking, and then grinned.

"Sorry mate can't say." Ron grinned, and Harry didn't feel that he was lying. Harry's plan failed.

"It was worth a shot." Harry grinned.

"Well of course it was mate. I'd have slapped you if you didn't try it. We've got to get going though. Mum wants to go to Diagon Alley to pick up our school supplies." Harry remembered that he still hadn't opened his own school letter to see what he would need.

"Guess I should get my letter open then?" he asked. Harry reached out his hand and watched the letter zoom out of the tent and fly into his hand. Ripping the end off of the envelope, he pulled out the parchment. He immediately noticed it wasn't the same as Hermione's, but there seemed to be some similarities. He noticed Ron look a bit nervous. Harry knew that Ron hadn't been made Head Boy, but that was all that Ron had divulged.



Dear Mr Potter,

I am pleased to accept you back to Hogwarts. If you are reading this, then I assume you will be attending school in September.

I have been told that you will need to have some free reign by Albus. He has told me that school cannot interfere with your extracurricular activities. He has not told me what they are, but I assume they are important. I have also been told that if you need any assistance, I am not to withhold anything you need. If you wish to confide in me you may, but that is not an obligation. I hope that you understand that Harry. On to happier matters.

I would like to inform you that due to your duties, you will no longer be Quidditch Captain. Your friend Ronald Weasley will be taking over for you. I believe that this would be a much better way for the team to be run, since you will be fairly busy. I hope that this will not upset you, as I assume you will still continue to play for the team. I expect to see the trophy in Gryffindor's cabinet again this year.

The last matter with which I must talk to you about is your new duties. I would like to congratulate you on attaining the position of Head Boy.

As Harry read this, he froze. I was made Head Boy? How? I was never a prefect. He stared up at Ron, who was looking at him with a mixed expression.

"Did it tell you about Quidditch Captain?" Ron asked. Harry could tell he was worried.

"Yes, and congrats Ron." Harry looked back at the letter.

"Look Harry, I didn't ask for it, and I wanted to give it back to you, but McGonagall refused to let me." Harry looked back up at Ron while emptying the envelope of its last contents.

"It's not that Ron. I really am happy for you. I'm actually more concerned with this." He held out his hand, the gold badge shining on his palm. Ron looked down and his jaw dropped. He looked like he was trying to speak but couldn't find any words. It was like a fish out of water. He finally found his voice.

"Congrats mate. I don't know how you do it. You weren't even a prefect." Ron continued staring at the badge.

"I don't know. Hang on a minute." Harry passed him the badge and continued to read the letter.

The last matter with which I must talk to you about is your new duties. I would like to congratulate you on attaining the position of Head Boy. I know this may seem a bit unorthodox, but it is not unheard of. If the times call for a person who was not named a prefect to become a Head Student, then the Headmaster or Headmistress to make that decision. I believe that you would be the best candidate of the entire student body. I know that you may think this is because you are the chosen one, but it is not. You embody every aspect of the Head Student. As Head Boy, you are expected to provide a good role model for the students. You, as head Boy, are expected to persevere through any task that is set to you. I can think of no other that has fulfilled this to the best of his ability. And finally, the student must be respected by his peers. You are one of the most respected students in the school. I hope that you will accept this offer, because without you, Hogwarts will have no Head Boy this year.

Hope to hear from you soon with your response about the position.

Sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Headmistress of Hogwarts



When Harry finished reading, he handed the letter to Ron and took his badge back. He stared at the gold 'HB' that was engraved into it. He couldn't believe it. He was Head Boy. He didn't realize Ron pulling him towards the house after hearing his mother shout. Next thing Harry noticed, he was standing in the kitchen holding his badge. Hermione was in front of him, looking at him funny.

"Are you ok Harry? You seem really weird." She continued to look at him, but he didn't know what to say. He just remembered that she was Head Girl. He would be sharing a common room with her.

"Well, tell her already Harry." Ron said still clutching the letter.

"Tell me what?" she asked, looking between the two boys. Harry didn't know what to say so he held out his fist, the badge in the center of it. She held out her hand to catch what he was giving her. He opened his hand and let the little gold badge fall onto her palm. As his hand backed away, she looked at her palm and her eyes widened. She looked back at Harry then back to the badge a few times. She finally rested on his face. "You're?" He nodded. "That means we are sharing the common room and the duties?" Again he nodded. She let the information sink in. Harry was relieved when he saw her face break into the biggest smile he hadn't seen in a while and grabbed him into a fierce hug. "CONGRATULATIONS HARRY" she exclaimed as she broke apart from him.

"Thanks" Harry said.

"So this means that we can spend more time together at school. We will have rooms right next... to each other. Do you know what that means?" she asked, realizing what that meant. She hoped he would pick up on the hint. We might be able to get away with sleeping together while we are at school. Her heart leapt at the idea. She didn't know whether he got it, because his head nodded while he spoke.

"What does that mean Hermione?" he asked her. She gave him a dazed look then realized what he was saying. She could see it in his eyes that he knew what she meant.

She knew that Harry didn't want the news of what they did to get out. They still weren't sure how Ron would take the news. She had to think quickly. "Well for... all our extracurricular activities."

Ron smiled, not knowing that the pair was hiding something. Harry could tell that Hermione wasn't telling what she meant, and he was pretty sure that he had the proper idea in his mind. It was at that moment that Mrs Weasley came into the room.

"What is going on in here? What's all that commotion about?" she asked. Her eyes shot open in shock when she saw the Head Boy badge in Hermione's hand. "Who?" she asked, looking between Ron and Harry.

"Don't look at me mum, I'm no Percy." She looked back at Harry who shrugged and looked down at the floor.

"Congratulations Harry dear. I am so proud of you." She smiled and gave him a giant hug. "I hope that you don't take it too bad that Ron is going to be Quidditch Captain. Although I can see why you wouldn't be the captain anymore, you're duties will be keeping you too busy. It makes much more sense; I remember when Bill was Head Boy. He was extremely busy with all his tasks. I assume that is why professor McGonagall wanted you to relinquish leadership of the team." She turned as Charlie came walking in. Her attitude dropped a little when she saw him. "Oh, Charlie. I think Harry has some news that you would love to hear. He's been named Head Boy." Harry could swear he heard her say "I'm never going to live this down" after she finished. Charlie had a wide grin on his face when he heard the news.

"Congratulations Harry. That is wonderful news. I think your mother would be proud. But hearing about your father, I think that he would probably laugh at you. Then again, I hear from Remus that your father was made Head Boy. From the stories Sirius told me, James must have changed a lot to go from that Quidditch star to the Head Boy." Harry looked at Charlie and grinned. "Well mum, I think that I must be going. You should come with me so we can go to Gringotts together. Don't you have to withdraw some money?" Charlie grinned even broader than before.

"Don't you start with me Charles, I'm still you're mother" she scolded. This caused Charlie to laugh harder and the other three to give the pair a funny look.

"Am I missing something mum?" Ron asked. Mrs Weasley jumped, apparently forgetting the three were there.

"No dear, nothing. Your brother is just being a fool. That's all. Now go on Charlie. You have the lists of what they are going to need. You can go and pick everything up." She hurried him out of the kitchen and left the teens to go about their business. They decided on a nice walk around the grounds, resting under their new favourite tree they had found out by the Quidditch field. They spent the day talking about everything from Quidditch to their next school year. This led the conversation towards how Harry was going to get away from school to find the last few Horcruxes. They hadn't wanted to talk about it, but they all knew it had to be planned out properly. Halfway through their ideas of how to find the next Horcruxes they were interrupted by a young blonde. Luna walked over to them, her gaze not wandering from Ron.

"Ronald. How are you doing today?" She smiled at him, barely registering anyone else around him. Harry looked at Hermione who shrugged her shoulders. "Hello Harry and Hermione. I didn't mean to exclude you."

"Hi Luna" Harry and Hermione said back.

"Hi Luna, I'm fine thanks. How are you doing?" Ron asked her. Harry noticed that when talking to her, Ron didn't get embarrassed or turn red or anything.

"I'm doing fine actually. My father was talking about taking a trip to see if they can find the thick skinned Rucak Stelly. He says that he's noticed some strange activity around our Aunt's house in Africa. He thinks that they are interfering with her ability of sight. She seems to be slipping with her prophecies lately." Luna said in her usually airy tone. Ron smiled.

"Well let's hope he has some better luck than when he went looking for the Snorkack." Harry couldn't help but smile at the couple. He thought they looked good together, and Ron was really making an effort. Without thinking, Harry's hand reached out and grabbed Hermione's. He looked down at it when he realized what he had done. He looked up at the same time she did, since she had also looked at the hands. With a giant blush on both their faces, they quickly removed their hands and looked away.

Ron and Luna chatted away for the next few hours, but it took a while for Harry and Hermione to get over their embarrassment. By the time Luna left, Harry and Hermione had finally stopped blushing. Ron couldn't help but laugh at their discomfort. They went back inside for dinner and found out that Charlie had come back with their school supplies as well as a present. He passed the gift to Harry.

"That's for becoming Head Boy Harry. It's a tradition in the Weasley family that whoever becomes Head Boy gets a gift." Mrs Weasley was watching him open his gift. As Harry opened the package he found a watch. Looking at it, he noticed that there were 10 different hands on it, as well as various words written around the outside. "It's like our clock. It shows how people are doing. You know how it works. This is slightly different though. The small knob on the side switches the words around the outside of the watch to reflect the statuses of the people you have on it. You have up to 10 people that you can charm onto it. I hope you like it." He looked at her, and smiled. He moved to Mrs Weasley and gave her a giant hug.

"Thank you Mrs Weasley. I really appreciate it. I can see that you still want me as a part of your family." He backed away, noticing a hurt look pass quickly over Hermione's face. He started to feel bad since they made the effort for him but didn't for Hermione. Mrs Weasley followed his gaze and smiled.

"Charlie, where was that other present I asked you for." Mrs Weasley asked. Harry's eyes shot back to Mrs Weasley and saw her staring at Hermione. "We have two Head Children in the family to celebrate today." She smiled at Hermione who was blushing furiously. Charlie tossed over another small box that looked similar to Harry's. She opened it and out came a pocket watch. "It's the same style as Harry's." Hermione came and grabbed Mrs Weasley in a hug just like Harry had.

Dinner that night was full of laughter and glances were stolen between two of the diners. After the hand holding, Harry couldn't help but steal glances at Hermione. In turn, Hermione couldn't help but steal glances of Harry. Luckily for both of them, they didn't catch the other's eyes. After a long night, the pair turned in along with the rest of the Weasleys. Harry and Hermione went out to their tent.

Harry and Hermione got into their pyjamas without saying a word. They couldn't even look at each other. Harry heard Hermione's bed creak, figuring she had got into bed he turned around. He was met with a pair of eyes looking into his own. Hermione was sitting on her bed watching him. He didn't know what to expect. He waited for her to say something, sitting on his bed as he did. He looked into her eyes and she looked into his. The silence continued for several minutes, neither getting embarrassed or saying a word. Finally, Harry broke the silence.

"Mione, can we talk about today?" he asked.

"What about it Harry?" she asked quietly. She hoped that she would get some answers. She hoped that maybe she would get some response to why he grabbed her hand. She hoped that she would hear that he had the same feelings for her as she had for him. She remembered the close calls, and wanted to hear the words.

"Well I just wanted to apologize if I made things uncomfortable. I don't know why I grabbed... well you know."

"It wasn't really uncomfortable Harry."

"Well I just must have not been paying attention. I'm sorry Mione, I didn't mean to. It was just an accident." He looked at her, and rather than seeing her relief, he saw a different emotion in her eyes. Was it sadness?

Hermione saw her hopes of what he was going to say crash around her. She couldn't believe she had thought that he felt the same way about her that she did about him. He was Harry Potter. He wouldn't love the plain bookworm. She tried to put on a fake happy face.

"Of course Harry. I was hoping it wouldn't be uncomfortable either. I guess I really didn't know what was going on and got nervous." Harry could tell that she wasn't telling the whole truth, but she wasn't flat out lying.

"Are you sure Mione?" he asked her.

"Of course. I'm just glad that we are close enough friends to be able to do that and not have it be awkward." She gave her best effort to put on a genuine smile, but judging from Harry's face, she wasn't doing a good job of it. It was only then that she remembered he could tell if she was lying.

Harry heard what she had said and his stomach flipped. She was lying to him. He didn't know which part she was lying about though. He didn't want to make anything worse, so he decided not to press the issue. "Me too Mione. I'm glad that we can be friends and be able to do that. I know that I can trust you with anything." He paused. Should I tell her how I feel? Ron said it would be ok with him, but can I put her through that? No. I care about her too much to put her into too much more danger. "Let's get some sleep" he said finally.

She had noticed his pause, wondering what he was going to say. Dare she have hope again? Before she had a chance to hope too much, he said that they should go to bed. She was glad when she saw him get up and walk towards her bed. Then her emotions got the best of her. "Maybe we should try and stay in our own beds tonight Harry." She saw the hurt look on his face for the split second, then he nodded.

"Alright. If that is what you want we can try that." He smiled as he turned back to his own bed.

'But that isn't what you want' the voice said. 'You want to feel his body next to yours. You feel safe in his arms. You know without him the dreams will come back.' Hermione didn't want to have the dreams again, but she couldn't have him close to her. It was torture being so close to the one you love and not being able to touch them. The embraces were almost unbearable. She just couldn't get that close to him tonight. She turned over and looked at the wall.

As Harry sat in his own bed, he looked over at the other bed. He wanted so badly to be there, but if she didn't want him to then he wouldn't. He knew that he was more comfortable in her bed. He knew now that it was because he was in love with her. He finally decided that he couldn't go over there, and decided to try and get some sleep. He took off his glasses and laid them next to his wand. He turned over, looking at the other wall of the tent. He couldn't help but miss the scent that he normally smelled when she was next to him. He felt uncomfortable without her in his arms. He knew it was going to be a long night. After almost an hour he drifted off into a restless sleep.



There was a long black corridor with a door that was barely able to be seen. He could hear screams coming from behind the door, echoing menacingly along the corridor. He knew he had to try and help, the screams seemed so familiar. He started running down the hall, hearing his footsteps echo back at him. As he got closer the screams grew louder. His heart was racing, he knew whoever it was in there must be being tortured. How much longer could they survive it sanely? As he got to the door, he grabbed for the handle. His attempts to turn it were futile, it wouldn't budge. The screams were the loudest he had heard them yet, but they seemed to lack the same emotion as they did before. He knew that the person must be breaking. Their sanity must be slipping away. Then all at once, the screaming stopped. Harry backed up and hit the door with everything he had in one reductor spell. He watched the door splinter and then ran in. What he saw made his blood freeze.

Lying in the center of a small, dark, circular room was Hermione. The only light came from a hole in the ceiling, illuminating the center of the room. He could see her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open. Her body was shaking with the unmistakable side effects of the cruciatus curse. He ran over to her, not noticing the other person in the room slinking into the shadows. He dropped next to his best friend's shaking body, praying that she was still alive. He wept as he searched for her pulse, and thanked God when he found it. It was just as he found it when he heard the cold, high pitched voice speak from the darkness.

"She's still alive for now Potter. Don't worry; I'm sure your parents will love to meet your mudblood lover."

Harry whipped around and felt his body go rigid. He couldn't move; he couldn't speak. Harry could only watch as Voldemort walked out of the darkness and grabbed his wand. Harry was thrown backwards against the wall as lanterns lit up around the room. Harry was helpless to watch as his friend was going to be killed.

"Well Potter, we meet again. It's such a wonderful thing love. It makes idiots out of even the most formidable people. Without love, you would never have come for your precious mudblood. Then I would never have been able to kill you. That old fool Dumbledore never would have thought that his saving grace of love would turn out to doom the wizarding world" he pointed his wand at Hermione, and without saying a word Harry saw her start to squirm. After a few seconds, her screams came back, echoing off the walls of the room. Harry tried to close his eyes but found the spell that bound him stopped him from looking away. He couldn't take it. He wept even harder, knowing that he couldn't do anything to stop this.

"STOP! DON'T DO THAT TO HER! STOP TORTURING HER!" Harry screamed through his tears. Voldemort stopped and looked at him and her screams ceased.

"You don't want me to torture your mudblood Potter? Why is that?" Lord Voldemort mocked.

"Because I love her" Harry sobbed. It was barely more than a whisper, but Voldemort smirked.

"Well Potter, I will do as you wish. I won't torture her anymore." Harry looked at him. The smirk on his face made Harry's heart drop. He knew what was coming next. He watched Voldemort raise his wand back to Hermione's limp body.

"No" was all Harry could manage. His tears wouldn't let him say anything more.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!" Voldemort cried. The green bolt left his wand as Harry watched and struck Hermione in the chest. Harry felt his heart break knowing that she was dead. He couldn't even do anything to save her. Voldemort turned to face him. "All better now Potter? Now for you." Voldemort smiled his cruel smile.

Harry felt his body surge with hate. All he wanted to do was kill the person in front of him. He felt his limbs start to free themselves. Without thinking, he stuck out his hand and his wand flew back to him. Voldemort was shocked at the power coming from the boy.

"You will pay for every person that you ever hurt, for every family that you broke up, for every lover you left alone in the world." Harry said calmly as he bowed to the Dark Lord, not taking his eyes off him for a moment. When Voldemort didn't bow back, Harry straightened himself. He could see the uncertainty in his opponent's eyes. "Killing her was the worst possible thing you could have done. Without her I have nothing to live for." Harry felt all his power preparing for his final spell. He knew that he was going to use every last ounce of magic left in him and he didn't care. He had told the truth, without her there was nothing to live for. He raised his wand at the same time Voldemort swung his arm up.

"AVADA KEDAVRA" they cried at the same time. Harry watched a green bolt fly out of each wand, headed directly for the other. He felt all the energy he had leave him with that one spell and hoped that it would hit its mark. He started to collapse, watching as the two beams intersected in the middle of the room. The beams collided in mid air, Voldemort's ricocheting off into the wall. Harry's beam stayed true, hitting the Dark Lord in the chest. Harry watched as the Dark Lord fell to the ground in a lifeless heap. Harry blacked out.



Harry was being shaken awake. He opened his eyes, noticing that they were blurry. He felt the water leaking out of his eyes. He grabbed his glasses and put them on. The sight that met his eyes made him want to cry even harder. Those chocolate eyes were staring at him with a hint of concern.

"Harry, are you ok?" she asked him quietly. He tried to respond but nothing came out. He could only stare at her. He could feel his body shaking. The dream was so vivid. It must have been real. There was no mistaking it, just as it had been with the dream of the bench. Harry could see what was going to happen. He started to cry. "What's wrong Harry?" Her voice was cracking. She was getting upset. She couldn't bear to see her friend like this.

"You're... you're..." Harry stammered between sobs.

"I'm what Harry?" she asked. He looked up at her.

"You're going to... going to die" he said. He let the tears flow.

"What do you mean Harry?" she asked. She didn't know if she wanted to hear the answer.

"My dream." She felt a little better and was about to console him when he spoke again. "It was like the dream I had when we were by the lake. The dream that I had back then was when we were on your bench. It was so real. Since then, it happened. What does that mean?" He looked into her eyes, and she could see he was pleading for an answer to comfort him.

"The only reason that your other dream came true was because I made it come true. I had the same dream. I made it come true because I made up my mind to pull you out to that bench. This won't come true Harry, I promise." She smiled at him. He visibly relaxed and grabbed her into a hug.

"I don't know what I would do without you Mione" Harry whispered to her and she couldn't hold back the tears.

"I feel the same way about you Harry" she whispered back. She pulled back from the hug and looked at him. Her earlier sadness was gone. She knew that he cared about her, and that would have to do. "Do you mind Harry?"She motioned to his bed. "You're not the only person with bad dreams. Sleeping next to you helps keep them away though." She watched him as he deliberated his answer.

"That would make me feel a lot better Mione." He smiled at her and moved over to make room for her. She got in next to him and cuddled right up to him. The pair drifted off to peaceful dreams in no time.

The next few weeks before school were riddled with meetings under the tree trying to brainstorm possible locations for the last few Horcruxes. They went over their beliefs. They knew that the diary had been destroyed, as well as the ring. One part of the soul was still in Voldemort, and they were sure that the snake was another. Then there was the locket, which may or may not have been destroyed. That left two more objects, neither known. Dumbledore had been sure of Hufflepuff's cup, but they weren't positive. They could be anything. They could be anywhere. The teens had gone absolutely nowhere in the two weeks that they had thought about it. Next thing they knew it was August 31st. Harry's plan not to return to Hogwarts was long gone. He couldn't believe that he had ever thought of leaving and never returning to the school that he called home. Harry couldn't help but smile as the day before school rush began. Ron and Ginny were frantically trying to get everything back together. He had already packed with Hermione, so he could sit back and watch the scene unfold. He couldn't help but wonder if he would be able to make it back here or not. He watched Hermione read her book, the fears that his dream brought were still in the back of his head. He was more determined than ever to make sure that she didn't get hurt. He vowed that she wouldn't die while he lived.