Harry Potter and The Fight of Logic vs. Love

Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Aftermath 
As Harry raced towards the Burrow, he couldn't help but feel that it was his fault. He didn't know if his friends were alright, or if they were going to be by the time this fight ended. He told himself that he can't think like that, not until the fighting was over. If you get distracted by thinking like that during the fight more people could be hurt or could get killed. You have to keep focused on the task at hand. Try as he might, his thoughts wouldn't stray far from his brunette friend. Harry kept running as fast as he could. He could see the number of spells being fired away from the Burrow beginning to dwindle, but the opposite way didn't. He raced forward, and saw that there were many fights going on.

As soon as he was close enough, Harry started firing stunners at the nearest Death Eater. This must-have caught them off guard, since the Order member was able to overtake the Death Eater. Harry continued running for the last place he knew his friends were, and he didn't stop for anything. He ducked and dodged spells being cast, and got through unharmed. Looking around, Harry didn't see Ron or Hermione anywhere. He noticed Ginny a few meters away, duelling with a rather large Death Eater. He had taken to the point of disarming her and beating her rather than just killing her. He didn't seem to worry about anyone else around. Harry took this advantage and fired a stunner at the man. The red bolt simply bounced off his arm and grabbed his attention. He turned to Harry with a smile showing from beneath his mask. Harry heard the voice speak, but didn't hear exactly what he had to say.

The cloaked figure pointed to Ginny and laughed. Moving his wand upwards, a purple flame started to come out of the end of his wand. Harry remembered seeing this flame before and felt the anger boil inside him. His memories flashed to Hermione in the Department of Mysteries back at the end of his fifth year. The anger got to such a point that Harry didn't even remember raising his wand as he ran at the Death Eater, throwing a reducto spell at his chest. The Death Eater had a blank look on his face as the spell connected, and Harry heard a sickening crunch come from the man's body before it flew 50 feet. Harry ran to Ginny and helped her up, hiding her next to the house. "Are you ok Ginny? He didn't hurt you too badly did he?"

For a second, Ginny thought she had Harry back. Then remembering that he had left her, she became cold towards him again. "What do you care? You ended our relationship remember? Don't worry about me, just go and do your little saviour act." She spat the blood pooling in her mouth out on the ground. Standing up, she grabbed her wand and ran back off into the fight, leaving an angered Harry in her wake.

He took off in the opposite direction, and had to stop a few times after a few different spells were ricocheted his way. He was able to stun two more insignificant enemies without any trouble. Then he came upon one of his worst nightmares. He saw Ron duelling two Death Eaters. That wouldn't have been so bad, but it turned out that Ron seemed to be losing. Ron was holding his own, but his hold was slipping fast. Harry hurried over to help; casting a shield charm at Ron's back just before a stunner caught him in the shoulder. Ron turned and saw Harry start to take over the Death Eater at his side. Ron grinned at him. "Took you long enough mate; I was starting to worry that you weren't coming back." Ron was able to finally stun the Death Eater, but another took his place.

"I couldn't let you have all the fun now could I? I just had to take a walk to stretch my legs; I didn't think you would have a party without me" Harry yelled back. He made some quick movements with his wand and yelled out a quick rictusempra spell. The spell caught the Death Eater in the arm, sending him spinning out of control and smacking his head off a rock and knocking him unconscious. He turned to Ron and they fired a stunner each at the last Death Eater, and the power of the two spells combined and smashed the shield charm protecting him. "Ron listen" Harry started but Ron cut him off.

"Don't worry Harry. We are good, but there are some other things we need to discuss after. Now isn't the time; we need to find Hermione. She is around here somewhere but I lost track of her when the two Death Eaters jumped me. Last time I saw, she was running after that Dolohov person." Harry's heart sank. Hadn't he finished Dolohov off when he was attacking Ginny? Harry had seen the spell that the person used, and it was the same as Dolohov used in the Department of Mysteries. When he thought about it, he knew that it wasn't Dolohov. Dolohov wasn't as big as the man that Harry had attacked. A spark of hope welled up in Harry's chest and he started to make a run for the direction Ron was pointing. Just as Ron started chasing after him, another Death Eater appeared. "Go Harry; find Hermione and make sure she's alright. I've got this one." Ron took a few weak shots and distracted the Death Eater long enough for Harry to run. Harry noticed that with the infusion of the 5 new fighters since he and the others returned the tide was beginning to sway. He could see more Order Members fighting harder than before and winning. He ran along, ignoring other fights, but taking opportunities to silence the Death Eaters as he passed. Almost 3 minutes had past, but they felt like hours. He was starting to panic, trying to think of where she could be. Most of the fights were dying down, but he still hadn't found Hermione. He could hear Ron coming up behind him, but he was still too far back to hear what he was saying. He glanced left and right as he ran, nearing the edge of the Burrow. Looking around, he saw a flash coming from the field where they used to play Quidditch. Even from this distance, he could make out a big bushy head of brown hair. His heart leapt at the idea that she was still alive; that she was still fighting. He only knew one thing, and that is that he had to get to her; he had to help her. With that thought in mind he took off.



Ron was just catching up to Harry, trying to figure out where Hermione was, when he saw Harry stop and look around. Ron was about 10 feet away when Harry started running out to the back end of the lot. When Ron looked, he could make out more spells being fired through the night. It looked like there were two figures firing spells back and forth. He saw a large figure, and could just make out through the darkness the profile of Antonin Dolohov. Looking at the person he was fighting, he froze when he saw the mass of brown, bushy hair. He finally gained control of his extremities and started to run. He could see Harry ahead of him, running at full speed and tried to use his long strides to catch up with him. He knew that Harry would get there first, but he hoped that he wouldn't be too late. Ron was amazed at how fast Harry was running, and how he was deflecting any spell that came his way without even raising his wand. Ron watched as Death Eaters fired spells at him, and the ricocheted off at various angles after getting to a point less than a meter from his body. Even the green bolts seemed to miss him by inches, almost as if he was running and his body was moving instinctively, speeding up or slowing down just enough to make the killing curses miss him.



Harry didn't take in anything as he was running. He couldn't hear the people yelling on either side of him. He didn't feel the spells glancing off his shield that he unconsciously raised. His mind hadn't thought of putting up a shield spell as he ran; the only thing going through his head was the idea that he had to get to Hermione. He felt the curses whizzing past him, but he didn't realize the only ones that were going past him were the green ones, and they were stopping as the Order Members took the advantage; disabling the Death Eaters while their attention was on Harry.

Harry could feel his body aching from running so much, but he pushed himself to go faster and he started getting worried. He could see the fight closer now, and it didn't look like it was very even. Hermione looked like she was getting forced back by various spells, and didn't have much chance to shoot any spells back. Harry was just out of range when a stunner made it through her shield and knocked her down. He felt his blood rise again, seeing who had stunned her. Dolohov was laughing as he walked towards her. She looked back, with a scared look on her face. Harry was close enough to hear the laughing and felt his anger grow. "Well then little mudblood, looks like you aren't so tough after all. I am going to enjoy finishing you off. I am sure that the Dark lord won't mind if I have some fun with you first. Now what should I do to you? How about we torture you a bit?" He laughed again. "Crucio" he cried, missing Hermione with the yellow bolt by a fraction of an inch. "I see you aren't completely broken yet. Are you waiting for someone to rescue you? You know that it won't happen. Fine, if you don't want to play then I think it's time to finish a curse that I started over a year ago." Dolohov raised his wand above his head and purple flames started to come out the top. Harry knew that if Dolohov was able to finish this curse, he would never be able to save her.

Harry ran forward, throwing his hand out towards Hermione and Dolohov, without even saying a word and the pair flew out of control. He raised his wand to Hermione as she was in mid air, stopping her with a wingardium leviosa spell, and brought her back gently to the ground as he ran up between her and Dolohov. Dolohov had recovered quicker than he expected.

"Well well, if it isn't Potter? Come to save your mudblood friend have you? Lucky you made it here in time, though I wish that I could have had a few minutes more with her. I could have had her yelling your name if you had given me a few minutes" he smirked.

"Too bad, I would rather hear her scream my name than you scream my name, because you are going to be screaming for my mercy." Harry shot back. Hermione was getting up and looking for her wand when she felt his power spike. She couldn't believe the power that was coming off of him right now, and was surprised that Dolohov couldn't feel it. Either that or he thought that he could take Harry out.

"Tisk Tisk Potter, you wouldn't have the guts to do anything to me. I know how you work, and I can see that you are nothing more than a scared, pathetic, and extremely stupid child. The Dark Lord may hate me for nearly killing you, but in the end he will forgive me. Crucio!" yelled Dolohov. Harry reacted a split second before the yellow curse hit him, and dodged to the side, throwing Hermione out of the way with a quick dispersion charm. The curse barely missed her, and Harry rolled out of the way. He moved quickly and fired off two stunners and a reductor right after. The stunners impacted Dolohov's hasty shield, but didn't do any damage. The reductor had a slightly better impact than the stunners. Whether the reductor was strong enough, or the stunners had weakened the shield enough, but the reductor shattered the shield spell and threw Dolohov back a few more feet. Harry took the advantage and shot another stunner at him, knocking him over. Hermione quickly disarmed him, and Harry ran over to her.

"Harry, thank you! I was worried that I wouldn't be able to see you again." She grabbed him in a hug, and he felt more relieved than ever. As he held her, his instincts kicked in as he felt movement behind him. He barely had time to think before he moved to the right, taking Hermione with him.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!" Antonin Dolohov yelled from behind them. Harry ducked to Dolohov's left and pulled Hermione along with him. The curse passed just over his shoulder. Dolohov didn't know how he had managed to dodge the killing curse at point blank range.



Harry rolled out of the dive and instinctively reacted. The first curse that came to mind was a curse he had never wanted to use again. All he wanted to do was cause as much pain for to this person that tried to kill Hermione. As he rolled, he aimed his wand at Dolohov and thought of the sectumsempra curse. He immediately saw that it had worked as the cuts opened across Dolohov's body. Harry noticed that the spell wasn't as effective as it had been against Malfoy. Dolohov stumbled, but he didn't start losing blood as rapidly as Malfoy had. In fact, it seemed that the robes were the most cut part of him, since his body seemed to only have tiny paper cuts appearing all over. Dolohov stumbled backwards and made a run for it. Harry raised his wand as Dolohov was running, and took careful aim. "DIFFINDO" he yelled, watching as the spell worked as planned. The wand that Dolohov had in his hand was chopped in half. As Dolohov got to the edge of the property, he turned and apparated out. The remaining Death Eaters who could make it away ran to the edge of the property. The few that made it out turned on the spot and apparated away. Harry started to stand up from the ground where he was laying on his stomach, but found he was unable to. He was breathing heavily, and his whole body was hurting. "Mione?" he called out in a weak voice. She didn't respond, and he feared the worst. I got her out of the way of the curse, didn't I?


He heard someone running his way, and he heard the screams coming from his friends. He still didn't hear anything from Hermione, and his heart started pumping blood out to his extremities, as if it knew he had to get up to check her out. His body felt like it had a tonne of weight added to it as he pushed up from his lying position. He looked down at the ground, unable to move his head properly. Finally, his head moved left, and he saw Hermione lying down on her back. Her eyes were closed, and she wasn't moving. His heart pumped even harder, and he was no longer aware of the weight in his body. He moved as fast as he had during the fight, crawling over to where she was laying down. He felt for a pulse, and breathed a sigh of relief when he found one. He had to get her inside and have her get checked out to make sure there was nothing really wrong with her.

Harry stood up, and picked up Hermione in his arms. He cradled her carefully, and took her back to the Burrow. He couldn't hear what the other people were saying; all he knew is that he had to get her inside. As soon as he got back to the tent, he laid her down on her bed. Ron had followed him in and Harry heard him speak.

"How is she Harry?" Ron asked through clenched teeth. Harry could tell Ron was worried, and with due reason. She was, after all, his girlfriend. "Is she alright?"

"I don't know Ron; I want you to stay here while I find a healer. They may be in short supply right now, so I will be back as soon as I can. Just sit with your girl alright?" Harry responded, heading for the door.

"About that Harry, we need to talk." Ron started, but was unsure of how to explain it to Harry.

"I said we would talk about it later Ron, just stay with her. Now isn't the time to talk about that." Harry moved out the door and into the night. He looked around and saw what kind of damage was done. He could see a bunch of healers running around trying to tend to the wounded. He couldn't believe the amount of wounded there was, the amount on both sides. There were Death Eaters strewn everywhere, many lying on top of fallen members of the Order. He spotted a familiar healer running around to various groups of injured. He ran over to her.

"Madame Pomfrey, could you please come with me? I need you to take a quick look at Hermione. I'm not sure if she is ok or not." Harry said in a calm voice.

"Is she bleeding Potter?" she asked, and he shook his head no. "Does she look like she is going to die this instant?" Harry stared blankly at her. "I didn't think so. I am sure she is fine Potter, but I will need to check on more pressing matters right now. These people need my help." With that she turned her back on Harry, and he snapped.

"Madame Pomfrey, I need you to come with me right now. You are going to come with me whether you like it or not. I asked nicely, so now I am telling you. You need to get into that tent NOW!" He hadn't raised his voice at all, until the last word. She looked at him and immediately understood the power this young man had.

"Alright Mr Potter. I can see this is urgent. Lead the way." She followed him as he moved into the tent. She looked at Hermione, who was getting paler by the moment. Madam Pomfrey rushed over and gasped. "Oh my. She looks extremely weak. What kind of spells did she get hit with?" She turned to look at Harry.

"I don't really know. I think that she was only fully hit by a stunner, but she may have been grazed by a killing curse. I thought I got her all the way out of the way, but I may be wrong. Is she going to be alright?" Harry responded.

"We will have to wait and see. Give me a minute to do some tests." She started muttering to herself while she waved her wand over Hermione. This lasted a few minutes; the tensest few minutes of Harry's life. He realized this must be what it's like when she sits next to me as I am unconscious in the hospital wing at school. I have to try not to make her go through this again. The suspense is killing me. He looked as Hermione started to glow a faint purple. He wondered what was happening, but as the color changed to a dull blue, Madame Pomfrey explained. "Well Harry, she should be alright. I think that she has just overtaxed herself in that fight. She seems to be very weak, but nowhere near in a critical condition. I think that she should be fine after she gets some rest. Now if you don't mind Potter, I am going to go check on the others, you look exhausted. Get some sleep. Doctor's orders." She smiled at him. "I will be back tomorrow to check on Hermione and yourself." With that final note, she left in a hurry to go check on other wounded.

Ron finally spoke up from his place in the corner. "Alright Harry, she's going to be fine. I think we should probably talk about something now. We have some time."

"Not right now Ron. I need to rest. I am so exhausted that I can hardly stand, so can we please talk about this tomorrow? I can accept that you two are together, so you don't need to worry about me. Just please let me sleep for a while." Ron nodded, and walked out of the tent. Harry watched Ron go and then collapsed in a heap on his bed. He fell asleep instantly.

Harry kept having dreams about the purple flames coming out of the wands. He kept seeing everyone he cared about getting hit and slumping to the ground in a pile. He woke up halfway through the night in a cold sweat. Looking around the tent, he saw that Hermione was shifting around a lot, probably in a nightmare. He couldn't hear anything from outside the tent, and he hoped that they were able to help everyone. He got up and made his way across to Hermione's bed. He gently shook her and called her name. Her eyes shot open at his voice and looked straight at him in a slight daze.

"Harry? What happened? How did I get back to the tent?" She stumbled through.

"Don't worry Mione. It's over for tonight. I brought you back here when you passed out. I just finished duelling with Dolohov and turned to find you unconscious on the ground. So I carried you back and got Madame Pomfrey to check you out. She says that you just over taxed yourself in the fight. You just need to get some rest. Oh and don't worry, Ron is just fine. He stayed with you until Pomfrey left and then I forced him to go to bed."

"Last thing I remember Harry is seeing you throw a silent curse at Dolohov, one that nearly shredded his clothing off of him. You told me you were never going to use that curse again. What happened to change your mind?" She completely overlooked the statements about Ron.

"Well he tried to kill you, I mean us, and I just wanted to put him into as much pain as possible. I just wanted to kill him for trying to kill you. That was the first spell that came to mind, but it didn't work like it was supposed to. It barely even gave him a scratch; it just tore up his robes. But enough talk for tonight, you need rest and I am going to do the same. We can talk more in the morning. Ron said he had something to talk about too. Goodnight Mione." Harry turned to go to his own bed and got two steps away before she called him.

"Why don't you sleep here tonight Harry? It would make me feel a lot better about getting some rest. I always feel safer with you next to me." Hermione said quietly, it was just barely a whisper.

Without turning back to look at her, Harry responded with "I don't think that Ron would appreciate that Mione. Your best friend and your girlfriend sleeping together wouldn't go over well. I don't want to ruin your relationship again." He quickly changed into some pyjamas, and then lay down on his bed, facing away from her. He heard her get out of bed, change into pyjamas, and climb in next to him. "Mione, I am serious."

"Listen to me Harry. You didn't hear the ending of the conversation Ron and I had this afternoon. We discussed our feelings, and we both came to the conclusion that we only loved each other as siblings, not lovers. We've decided that we are better off as friends since there are no romantic feelings there." She wrapped her arms around his back.

"You're serious aren't you Mione? I thought you said you loved him, so how is it that you two found out you don't love each other?" Harry felt a lot better hearing this statement come from her. He even smiled.

"Yes Harry, I am being serious. We discussed it, and we just realized that we only cared about each other with a family kind of love. We decided that we were not really in love with each other." She conveniently left out the fact that Ron had accused her of being in love with Harry. "Things are better off this way, and we both feel better about everything. Now come on and get some sleep, I need my beauty sleep." She giggled and squeezed him tighter, moving closer to him as she did.

"Come on now Hermione. You can't lie to me like that. You don't need any sleep to be beautiful; you've proven that over the years that you don't get any sleep at school." They both laughed. Harry had to admit to himself that he was being truthful about that statement; she really didn't need any help to be beautiful. They both snuggled closer to each other and fell asleep. Neither one had bad dreams that night, but rather returned to the swing at Hermione's house.



Hermione didn't know why Harry was acting so strange when she woke up. When he turned to go back to his bed, she called out to him in a whisper. "Why don't you sleep here tonight Harry? It would make me feel a lot better about getting some rest. I always feel safer with you next to me." She waited for his reaction, seeing him tense up. She didn't know why he didn't immediately come back to her like he usually did. His next sentence helped her realize what was wrong.

"I don't think that Ron would appreciate that Mione. Your best friend and your girlfriend sleeping together wouldn't go over well. I don't want to ruin your relationship again." He said without looking back at her. She watched as he changed into his pyjamas and got into bed, still not looking at her. She got up, out of bed, and changed into her own set of pyjamas. As she changed, she made up her mind, and she walked over to his bed. "Mione, I am serious." She crawled into the bed even closer, ignoring his protests.

"Listen to me Harry. You didn't hear the ending of the conversation Ron and I had this afternoon. We discussed our feelings, and we both came to the conclusion that we only loved each other as siblings, not lovers. We've decided that we are better off as friends since there are no romantic feelings there." She couldn't help but smile at how he immediately felt more relaxed, and she wrapped her arms around him.

"You're serious aren't you Mione? I thought you said you loved him, so how is it that you two found out you don't love each other?" she heard Harry ask. She had to contemplate her answer for a minute, but she loved how he thought she was joking.

"Yes Harry, I am being serious. We discussed it, and we just realized that we only cared about each other with a family kind of love. We decided that we were not really in love with each other." She conveniently left out the fact that Ron had accused her of being in love with Harry. "Things are better off this way, and we both feel better about everything. Now come on and get some sleep, I need my beauty sleep." She couldn't help but giggle at the last statement. If I wanted beauty sleep, I would have to sleep the next few years away she thought. The response from Harry surprised her a bit.

"Come on now Hermione. You can't lie to me like that. You don't need any sleep to be beautiful; you've proven that over the years that you don't get any sleep at school." He started to laugh a bit, so she laughed as well. He must be kidding. Why else would he laugh? With that she snuggled up closer to him and felt him move closer to her. She smiled as she drifted off to sleep, still wondering if he was serious with his last statement. She drifted off into the dream that she had so frequently the past few nights, the one of her lying in Harry's arms on the swing.



Around 10am the next morning, Mrs Weasley came out of the Burrow to check on Harry and Hermione. She knew that the battle last night had taken a huge toll on both of them. She remembered seeing Harry duel like she had never imagined him capable. Then later on, she saw him running through dozens of fights, heading for the back field. The strange part was that he wasn't paying attention to any of the fights that he ran through. He had a permanent shield up as he ran, deflecting every hex, curse, and spell that came his way. She knew it had to be one of the strongest shield spells he could create, because he didn't even have to raise his wand to reinforce the spots where the spells were hitting. The shield was able to survive multiple hits from much older and more experienced wizards and witches. The only person that she had ever seen do that before was Dumbledore. Even he had some difficulty after that many impacts; yet Harry didn't even seem to notice the spells hitting his shield. It was just strange.

She walked out the kitchen door and looked around before heading to the tent. There were bigger areas that seemed to be charred from constant spell fire, and as she looked back at the house, she noticed many blackened areas and chunks of wall missing. She sighed, and inwardly hoped they could get it all repaired in time. There were only a few more days to go before the wedding, and now people would want to make sure that the security was even tighter. She was worried that there wasn't going to be enough manpower to cover the Burrow. Molly turned around and walked towards the tent. I'm surprised Hermione isn't up yet; usually she is one of the first people up. I hope she is alright. She came to the door of the tent and called in. When she didn't get a response she lifted the flap; she froze.

As Molly looked in, she saw that Hermione's bed was empty. She started to panic. Where would she have gone to? She didn't know what she was going to do. She looked over at Harry's bed and saw that he was still there, but she also noticed that he wasn't alone. Her heart slowed as she recognized the mass of brown, bushy hair. She felt a surge of anger come out of nowhere, and then it subsided. Her first instinct was to believe that they had lied to her and her family; that they had lied to everyone. Something inside her stopped though, as though she realized something that she really didn't see. She could see how peaceful they looked, and she realized that it didn't matter what they told everyone. They looked happy together, even if they didn't want to admit it. She couldn't be mad at them for wanting to be happy, and she couldn't believe any of her children would try and stop them from being happy. All Molly could do was smile at the pair, and leave them alone. If they wanted rest, they would have as much time as they wanted. Now all she needed to do was to tell Charlie he was right, if he woke up anytime soon that is. With that thought on her mind, she left the tent to go and check on her second oldest son.

Molly hurried away, moving quickly back into the house. She walked through the crowded kitchen and upstairs to Bill's room. She knocked before she walked in, just in case anyone was getting changed. When she heard no response she opened the door. Walking into Bill's Room, she looked at the bed on the left, noticing that it was empty. Bill must have gone downstairs while I was out in the tent. She turned her attention to the sleeping figure on the bed to her right. Oh Charlie. What happened to you? She recalled when he had joined the fight.



Just when everyone started to think it was hopeless, spell fire rained from the path to town. In the first volley, at least five Death Eaters fell; unconscious, paralyzed, or dead. Molly, who had been fighting with a masked figure felt like they had a fighting chance again. She saw Harry dart past, with Lupin not far behind. A short distance back from Lupin, she saw where all the spells had come from. Arthur, Charlie, and Tonks were bringing up the rear. She fought back against her opponent, harder than before and succeeded in stunning them. She turned her attention to the nearest opponent, but screamed as she saw her only daughter being attacked by a giant of a man. She started to move towards her daughter, but saw a spell glance off the man's shoulder. This seemed to gain the man's attention, since he looked at Harry. She watched as the man visibly laughed and pointed at Ginny. She was too far away to hear what he said, but she got the idea as he raised his wand and saw purple flames start flowing from the end. She didn't know much about the spell, only what she had heard about it from Poppy after Hermione had been hit by it in her fifth year. She knew that if the person hadn't been silenced, Hermione would have been dead. She froze as the arm started to fall towards her daughter, knowing that she had just lost her youngest child. She saw Harry run towards the Death Eater, throw his arm up towards the man, and shoot a reductor spell at him. She saw that his wand was in his other hand, and was shocked. The Death Eater seemed to take the reductor in the chest, and even at this distance, Molly heard the sickening crunch that told her the man was dead. She felt a wave of relief knowing that her daughter was still alive. She saw Harry raise Ginny up and help her near the house. She resumed her fight with another Death Eater, and as she stunned the inexperienced foe, she glanced back and saw Ginny run off in one direction, and an angry Harry run off in the other. Molly realized that Ginny probably said something to Harry that made him so angry, and she felt ashamed her daughter couldn't get over her feelings of hate towards Harry. Even Ron was able to accept that Harry and Hermione were his friends, and nothing could change that.

After the battle had finished, she saw Harry walking towards the house, carrying a body in his arms. She felt her blood drain as she saw the bushy hair. There was no mistaking that it was Hermione in his arms, but was she still alive? She started to walk towards him, to ask him what had happened, but Ron shook his head and told her as he passed "she's alive." Mrs Weasley was relieved, but still worried what had happened that Hermione was not awake. Her fear for Hermione was cut off when she saw Charlie being carried up on a stretcher towards the house.

"CHARLIE! Arthur, what happened to Charlie?" she asked her husband who was walking next to the stretcher.

"We don't know Molly dear. We only know that he was hit with a curse from one of the Death Eaters. We could only see the greenish yellow light, but no one heard the spell. He just sort of convulsed, went into a fit, and then stopped moving. We aren't sure what is going to happen." Arthur replied, looking grim.

Molly watched as they brought Charlie into the house and saw a healer from St Mungo's follow a minute or two later. She couldn't help but worry as she started to help where she could. She saw Harry come out of the tent and walk over to Poppy. She couldn't hear what he said to her, but she looked like she asked him some questions. Each ones he replied with a shake of his head. She saw Poppy say one last thing, and then turn away. Harry freaked. She didn't hear him raise his voice until she heard him almost yell "NOW!" She saw Poppy turn back to him and mutter something. Next thing she saw was Harry leading her to the tent, and going inside. A few minutes later, she saw Poppy come out and another minute later Ron followed. They both seemed relieved as they left, so she figured that Hermione must really be ok.

She went upstairs and saw Charlie lying on his bed. She couldn't help but cry at the sight of another one of her children injured. She walked over to the side of his bed and placed a hand on his forehead. He was burning up. She heard a knock on the door as the healer came in.

"I'm sorry Madame, but you need to step back. There are a few more things that we need to look after here, but I think he should be alright. He may just feel a little weak when he wakes up." The young man took out a glowing blue potion, and gave some to Charlie. Molly's son visibly relaxed as he slept. She breathed a sigh of relief.



A cough from the bed brought her out of her thoughts. She looked down to see Charlie open his eyes. "Oh thank goodness you're awake Charlie." She ran up next to him, and grabbed him in a giant hug. "I was worried you weren't going to make it. What happened?" she asked him.

Charlie sat up a bit, feeling exhausted. "I don't know mum. Last thing I remember was seeing the Burrow under attack, and running behind Harry and Remus trying to get back to help. We started shooting stunners from the moment we were close enough. As soon as we got here, we got into the thick of things. It looks like you guys were holding out, but just barely. You seemed to be losing, and we had to act quickly. I remember seeing Lupin running into the fight and taking on two of the enemies. Tonks, Dad and I weren't far behind. We were outnumbered, but I think that we were able to catch enough of them by surprise so we evened out the numbers. I think I saw Harry take out at least a half dozen on his own. Once that happened, I think we started to win. Last thing I remember is facing off against Alecto Carrow. I almost had her when her brother joined in, and caught me with some strange curse. It was almost like the cruciatus but it did more than that. It drained me of any power I had so that I couldn't fight it off. I remember feeling intense pain then I blacked out. Next thing I know I am waking up here, in this bed. I think it's your turn to tell me what happened before and after my story." He looked at her expectantly, and she gave in. She knew he wouldn't let her walk away.

"Well after you left to go find Harry, we all sat around and waited. Harry running off like that made a lot of people uncomfortable, especially when we found out that he stopped 6 Aurors that were after him. Everybody seemed to be either worried for him, or themselves. Around nightfall, maybe 15 minutes before you showed up, we heard yells coming from the edge of the property by the forest. We ran outside and saw at least 30 Death Eaters fighting as they came out from cover. One of them used the sonorus spell and told us to give them Harry and everyone else would be spared. They started stunning or attacking anyone who got in their way when we didn't turn him over. What else could we do but start fighting back? I told Ginny to get inside with Ron and Hermione, and to make sure that Gabrielle was safe. She didn't listen because Ron and Hermione had already taken off to help. I guess I really can't tell them what to do anymore. Then when the battle started to go full force, people started falling left right and center. There were too many for us to handle, but we tried our best. I didn't know how much longer we were going to last, that is until you guys showed up. From there, you know the rest of the fight. As for afterwards, well that is still a mess.

"There are a lot of injured. You were one of the worst I think. For the most part, people have just been stunned and knocked unconscious. There is the odd person with broken arms or legs or ribs. I think Harry gave the worst of it. He killed the person who was ready to kill Ginny." At Charlie's shocked look she explained. "I don't think he meant to, just like he didn't mean to with Kingsley. He just kind of reacted, and sent a reductor spell at the man. I'm surprised it did as much damage as it did. Harry's stunner had glanced off the man with no ill effects. The man must have some giant blood in him, just like Hagrid. But even from a couple of meters away I could hear his chest and ribs just shatter with a crunch. There is no way that he survived it. Well as I was saying, I saw Harry carrying Hermione out of the backfield after the fight. She wasn't moving, and I assumed the worst. Apparently, she is fine though. They are sleeping right now, they must have been exhausted. I hate to admit that you were right, but I think there is something between those two. When I went to check on them this morning, I found them sleeping in the same bed. I don't know whether they intentionally have feelings for each other or whether they just felt more comfortable and safe together, but they were in the same bed. That must count for something. Though they seemed more relaxed than anything, I don't think anything happened between them. They were just sleeping." She looked at Charlie who was wearing a large grin. "What?" she asked.

"I just have to collect my winnings. It's ok mum, I will let you pay me off in time." He laughed at the look on her face.

"Oh they haven't actually shown it yet. I don't think that you've won anything yet. We still will have to wait and see." She smiled at him. "But don't worry. If I lose the bet I will be woman enough to own up to it. Now get some rest, I will let everyone know you are alright." With that she walked out of the room, letting Charlie get some more sleep.



Hermione had woken up as Molly Weasley had entered the tent. She stiffened up, waiting for the yelling that never came. She heard the tent flap close again and relaxed. She wanted to get up, but felt her hand being held by Harry's. She tried to remove it, but couldn't do it without waking him up. She settled herself down, and gave in to her feeling of comfort. A few minutes later, she felt Harry stir. Hermione wasn't sure if Harry should know that they had just been caught. She decided that for now, she wouldn't let him know about it. "Harry, do you mind if I have my hand back?" she giggled.

"What do you mean?" Harry mumbled in his daze.

"My hand Harry, the one that can't be removed" she laughed. Harry seemed to come out of his stupor.

"Oh!" he let go of her hand and she slid it out from beneath his arm. "Sorry, I didn't realize, I mean I must have grabbed it while I was sleeping. You haven't been stuck like that for long have you?" Harry asked her, with a bit of a nervous note in his voice.

"I just woke up a minute ago, so you don't have to worry about anything like that. I think it's just time we get up. Are you feeling alright?" she asked.

"Sounds good, and I'm not the one who should be checked over. You are the one that passed out, not me. I do feel fine though, how about u?" Harry responded.

"I still feel a little wobbly, but that could just be exhaustion. I think if I get moving I should be alright. Uhm, I am just going to get changed, do you mind just leaving the tent for a minute?" she asked.

"Sure. Maybe I can sneak a peek through the flap" he laughed as she started to get up, reaching back to slap him in the arm. When she got off the bed, he got up and made his way to the door. Standing outside, he heard her shuffling around and the opening and closing of a trunk. He heard silence for a few minutes, and started to get worried. "Mione? Are you ok in there? Are you done getting changed yet?" His questions were met with silence. His heart started to pump, and he asked a bit more intently. "Hermione? Are you alright?" When his calls were met with silence again, he decided he was going in. He pulled back the curtain and saw Hermione sprawled backwards on her bed, half dressed. He ran over quickly, and felt for her pulse. Finding it, he sighed in relief. She must have just fallen asleep. I guess she was more drained than she led me to believe. I should probably cover her up; I don't think that she would want anyone coming in and seeing her like this. He looked down at her. She wasn't wearing a top, only her bra and she had her pants pulled up but not buttoned. Wow was all Harry could think before he lifted her up and moved her covers. He took the risk and buttoned up her pants, because she probably wouldn't remember who put her in bed, but at least she would see that she was done up. Hopefully she thought that she had done it up and not him. He covered her back up and smiled at how peaceful she looked. He took the chance to change his clothes as quickly as possible. He looked at her, bent over and kissed her on the forehead.

He heard her murmur something but he couldn't hear what she said exactly. He leaned in closer and she mumbled again. "Harry." He looked at her, not registering what she was saying. "Thanks." He kept staring at her and knew that she was dreaming about him. He didn't know exactly how he knew but he did. Then, out of nowhere, flashes of his dream with her on the bench in her backyard came flooding into his mind. These images seemed different. He wasn't looking down at the mass of bushy hair, but rather down at a hand; his hand. He knew that it was his hand because of the scars that flashed in the darkness. Then, as soon as it began, the images stopped. Harry was back in the tent, staring down at Hermione. He shook his head to clear the thoughts and turned around to leave the tent. As he lifted the flap to go out, he looked back at the sleeping form of his friend and smiled. She was dreaming about that night. He walked out of the tent and towards the kitchen smiling all the way.

Harry had walked into the kitchen as Ron walked down the stairs. He looked at Ron, and Ron stared back while he walked over. "Harry, can we finish our talk that we never got last night?" Harry nodded and Ron continued. "Alright, let's go outside to finish this away from prying ears." He followed Harry out the door and walked a distance from the house before stopping him. "Listen, I just wanted to apologize for the way that I've been acting lately. It's just with all the stuff that happened recently, I kind of freaked out and I realize now that I jumped the gun. Just talking with Hermione and seeing things unfold these past few weeks has helped to change my mind about her."

"I heard that you two aren't feeling the whole romantic relationship thing mate." Glad to hear it though Harry thought. He had to verbally smack himself for saying something like that. "I am sorry if I made things turn out this way with what happened at school. I really didn't-" Harry was cut off.

"Listen mate. There is nothing wrong with what you did. I know that you two are just friends; I know that you would never do that to Ginny." Harry's insides squirmed at the mention of Ginny. He didn't know how he felt about her anymore, not with Hermione to compare her to. "I was just being a git, and I really hope that I didn't damage our friendship by taking those swings at you. Can you forgive me Harry?" Ron stuck his hand out, waiting to see if Harry would accept it. Harry cracked a smile.

"Of course Ron, you're my best mate. I don't know where I would be without you." Harry grabbed Ron's hand and pulled him into a brotherly hug. He heard a squeal come from behind him, and turned just in time to see Hermione grab both of them in one big hug. He had to laugh.



Hermione had woken up, realizing she was back under the covers of her bed. How did I get back under these? Last thing I remember is lying back down for a minute, and then falling asleep. I didn't even finish buttoning my pants up. Who would have put me under here? Harry? Did he see me like this again? Why couldn't I be wearing something more flattering if he caught me? Wait, why am I even thinking that way? I don't have a chance with Harry; he's my friend. I better finish getting dressed and find him. She had just pulled on her shirt when she heard two people leave the house. She waited until she heard them speak. When she heard Harry and Ron talking, she walked out of the tent. She saw them shake hands and hug, and couldn't contain her happiness. She squealed and ran to them, grabbing them in a giant hug. "Thank goodness that is all done with. We are all going to need each other, and I don't want to lose either of you for any reason." she said.



The Trio set off for a walk, stopping quickly to grab some food. They spent the afternoon walking around the grounds and seeing what damage was done from the attack. All of them seemed the happiest they had been in a long time. Harry couldn't help but know that things seemed a little brighter for the future.



The next few days went by quickly now that the Trio was back together. Even the tasks set for them to help in preparation for the wedding seemed to be fun. Nothing could put a damper on their moods, not even the oddly grown up behaviour of Gabrielle whenever they saw her. Harry and Ron did get nervous when Hermione started talking about her fantasy wedding and talking about all the things she wanted. As the wedding grew nearer, Hermione could hardly be stopped when talking about how she couldn't wait to be married and have a wedding like this. Before they knew it, the wedding was only a day away.