Harmione One Shots

| The Locket pt. 3

Sleep was a visitor Harry rarely entertained, his mind a relentless storm churning with worry and a desperate search for a cure for the curse that was absorbing his wife. The sterile confines of the hospital wing felt like a tomb, a stark contrast to the vibrancy that was Hermione.

One particularly bleak afternoon, Harry sat hunched over a dusty tome in the Restricted Section. Ancient symbols swam before his eyes, blurring with exhaustion. He slammed the book shut in frustration. "Nothing," he muttered, his voice hoarse from disuse. "There has to be something in these blasted books!"

Suddenly, a soft voice startled him. "Looking for answers in the wrong place, Harry?"

He whirled around to find Luna Lovegood standing at the entrance, her usual ethereal air replaced by a determined glint in her blue eyes. "Luna," he sighed, relief washing over him momentarily. "Have you found anything?"

Luna shook her head, a single radish earring swinging gently. "Not yet, Harry. But I've been talking to some... unconventional sources. Creatures with a connection to the earth, you see. They believe the answer might lie not in forgotten spells, but in something far more intrinsic – intention."

Intention. The word echoed in Harry's mind. "Intention," he repeated slowly. "What kind of intention?"

Luna tilted her head, her expression thoughtful. "An intention so strong it can counter darkness itself. Like... the pure, unadulterated love of a parent for their child."

A spark ignited in Harry's chest, a flicker of hope. Hermione had mentioned the locket feeding off a powerful emotional core, their desire for a family. Could this be the key?

"Hermione... she talked about the locket, about its connection to our deepest desire," he explained, recounting his conversation with Hermione they had had when she was last conscious. She had revealed the world she became engulfed in when she was sleeping.

Luna listened intently, her brow furrowing in concentration. "Intriguing," she murmured. "Perhaps the locket latched onto your strongest desire, and now... now it's feeding off it, twisting it into a curse."

Their conversation continued late into the night, piecing together fragments of information, chasing down possibilities like chasing shadows. As dawn painted the sky with streaks of orange and pink, a weary but determined sense of purpose settled in Harry's gut. He wouldn't let this consume her. He wouldn't let this consume them.

He made his way back to Hermione's room, the familiar sterile scent hitting him with a wave of nausea. She lay motionless in the bed, her once vibrant face pale and drawn. Her hand, once warm and strong in his, felt frail and cool. At this point it had been nearly a week since she had been awake.

"Hey, Hermione," he whispered, his voice thick with emotion. He took her hand in his, careful not to disturb her fragile form. "Listen... we're working on it. We'll find a way, I promise."

Silence. The only sound was the rhythmic beep of the heart monitor, a stark counterpoint to his whispered pleas. He needed to reach her. He wouldn't let her slip away.

"Remember that time we went camping by the Black Lake?" he spoke, his voice soft but determined. "We were supposed to be studying for N.E.W.T.S in our 8th year, but ended up stargazing all night. You told me about all the constellations you knew, about the stories they held. We were so so hopeful..."

A tear rolled down Harry's cheek, splashing onto the back of her hand. As if by magic, her fingers twitched ever so slightly, a barely perceptible movement. Hope, fragile yet tenacious, bloomed in his chest.

He continued talking, filling the room with their shared memories – their first kiss under the mistletoe at Christmas, their exhilarating escape on a borrowed motorbike, the quiet comfort of evenings spent reading by the fire. Their wedding in the Great Hall and Honeymoon in Rome. When they first started trying for a baby...and the countless false tests. With each memory, he poured his love for her, his determination to save her, into the room.