Harry awoke feeling lighter than he thought possible. He let himself bask in the glow of what he and Hermione had shared last night, carefully ignoring the events that had led up to that moment and the dull throb in his thigh. He revelled in the feeling of Hermione's head resting on his chest and the sensation of her naked body pressed against his. He briefly allowed himself to contemplate never setting foot outside the Room again and simply staying here like this forever. As he laid there he subconsciously started playing with strands of Hermione's hair that he could feel draped over his fingers.
While Harry was lost in his own world Hermione slowly came back to consciousness as well. She too felt like someone had inflated a balloon inside her chest that the slight soreness between her legs did nothing to deflate. She was very happy they took the contraceptive potion a few weeks ago. Like Harry, she chose to lay there and enjoy the feelings that were filling her up. She listened contentedly to his heartbeat and giddily reminded herself that it was her lover's heartbeat. When he started playing with the hairs in her neck Hermione couldn't suppress a mewl of pleasure.
"Mi? Are you awake?" Harry asked in surprise, the thrum of his voice surprisingly pleasant for the girl lying on top of him.
"No. Now keep doing that." Hermione quickly discovered that his gentle laughter felt even better than his speaking voice and the more determined movements of his fingers were driving her libido up again. In what seemed like no time at all she was rubbing herself up against him like a cat in heat. "Mmmm. That feels great," she moaned, "We need to get up though. Remember what happened last time we stayed out?" Harry did remember and almost cursed himself for not realizing that they would be missed.
"Sorry, I didn't mean for you to freak out." Hermione hastened to reassure him. "I asked Dobby and Winky to make our beds look like we were sleeping in them. I just meant that we can't pretend to be in our beds all day. You can call them and ask them to pop us into our own beds and no one will be the wiser." Her voice took on just a trace of smugness as she informed him of her actions. Harry shifted his head so he was looking at her.
"Why, Ms. Granger, didn't you just plan my seduction down to the fine details?" he grinned at her. Hermione smiled back just as broadly.
"Yes. Yes, I did." The couple laughed, enjoying the fact that they could still laugh and allowing their joy to blunt the horrors of the day before. When the laughter tapered off Hermione looked Harry over carefully. "We really should get started on our day. You know there will be any number of people looking for us." When Harry grimaced his displeasure at the idea of getting up Hermione leant over him and kissed him deeply. "Come on. Madam Pomfrey will be waiting for you."
Harry sighed and nodded before calling Dobby and Winky and asking them to take Hermione and himself to their respective beds. When he found himself behind the hangings of his four-poster, Harry couldn't help but feel like his bed was unusually cold. He reluctantly cast a quick Air-Freshening Charm on himself so that people he met between here and the Hospital Wing wouldn't immediately notice Hermione's scent all over him. Having done that he got out of his bed and found a change of clothes and his cane laid out on top of his trunk. Harry gathered his clothes into his schoolbag and hobbled out of the dorm. Throughout the walk to the Hospital Wing he could feel his emotions fluctuating between the heights of joy and the numbness of horror depending on where his train of thought took him. One thing he would always be grateful to Hermione for was that he could at least contemplate his actions without getting lost in the spiralling recriminations of his mind. She had given him a handhold that he could grab to keep from falling into the abyss. She still loves me.It was a soul deep knowledge that Hermione cared for him, and for a boy who had never had that certainty before it was a wondrous shield against the cold of I'm a killer.
Upon his arrival in the hospital wing, Harry was promptly shown into the showers by a Healer who seemed to be eyeing him up and down to make sure no limbs had fallen off during the night. Madam Pomfrey insisted on a full scan of his leg after he had showered and told him that if he was having trouble sleeping she had some potions that he might consider taking so he didn't aggravate his injury while he slept. Harry prevaricated on the matter, not wanting to take the potions and not wanting to admit to exactly how 'restless' he had been the night before. Eventually Madam Pomfrey agreed to let him go another night without potions but warned that if he had another bad night she was going to give him the potions regardless of how he felt on the matter.
When his leg was once again wrapped in potion soaked bandages Harry was cleared to get dressed and leave. Harry stopped outside the Hospital Wing to pass off his schoolbag containing his clothes from the day before to Winky before he hobbled his way down to the Great Hall. When he got there he found that Hermione and Luna were already present, heads close together and giggling uncontrollably. The sight reminded him that they had been doing that last night too and he had a sudden and rather unwelcome suspicion that Luna had known what was set to happen last night before Harry did. Shaking himself Harry decided that it wasn't worth getting upset over even if his guess was accurate; after yesterday it really was a minor issue. His new resolution in place Harry hobbled over to the Gryffindor table and plopped down next to Hermione who gave him a warm good-morning kiss before asking about his visit to Madam Pomfrey. Harry related the Healer's findings noting with some amusement that the two girls blushed lightly when he mentioned Madam Pomfrey's worries about his restless sleeping.
Breakfast was just as subdued an affair as dinner had been last night. Looking around the Hall, Harry felt like something was off. He couldn't for the life of him place what it was. Eventually the persistent feeling became too much to bear and Harry put his fork down and started openly studying the Hall and the students. It only took him a few minutes to figure out what the problem was: there wasn't a strand of red hair at the Gryffindor table. Harry had a sinking feeling as he considered why they might be missing. Last time through Mr. Weasley had been attacked during one of Riddle's attempts to get into the Department of Mysteries and his children had been sent home. Harry dearly hoped that the casualty list wouldn't be growing past where it was already. Even so, he was uncomfortably aware that if he had faced two dozen Death Eaters yesterday that would have been a significant chunk of Riddle's forces and Riddle hadn't been there. Harry knew better than most how dangerous Riddle could be by himself and how feckless the Order could be. I can't do anything right now. I need to focus on the people I can help.
After breakfast Harry and Hermione slowly made their way back up to the common room. They spent the rest of the day offering comfort to the younger students and even some of the older ones as best they could. Professor McGonagall joined them around lunch time to give her Lions another ear to talk to. She brought with her the news that the next two Quidditch matches had been pushed back two weeks to give the students a chance to grieve but emphasizing that this was a way to fight the terrorists. They would not allow You-Know-Who to dictate how their lives would be lived. The matches would be played in honor of the victims of what was already being called the Battle of Hogsmeade. She would later confide in Harry and Hermione that all future Hogsmeade visits had been cancelled until the school could guarantee the students' safety, no matter what she had said about defying Riddle. That was also when Harry and Hermione learnt why there were no Weasleys in Gryffindor Tower.
"Ms. Weasley was one of the five who were kissed. According to eyewitnesses she refused to run. One person even reported that she was yelling that her love would save her." Harry felt the news land like a hammer-blow. He might not have particularly liked Ginny these past few months, had even been furious at what she had tried to do to him, but the Kiss was more than anyone deserved. "Ms. Weasley has been taken home by her parents who will care for her there. Her brothers have also gone home for the weekend to be with their family." After McGonagall left Harry and Hermione grabbed each other in a needy hug.
"I can't believe it." Hermione whispered softly. "She...this was..." She trailed off as she couldn't find the words to express the feelings running through her.
"I know." Harry said quietly. He too was having trouble separating his grief for the friend he had once thought he had, his anger at the Death Eaters and his guilt at the undeniable relief that she would no longer pose a threat to him or Hermione. After a long moment more they shared a look and a soft kiss before they headed back over to the other students to try and offer what comfort they could.
At the end of the week Aurors Montrose and Tonks showed up at the castle asking to talk to Harry. They informed him that almost all of the Death Eaters he had faced had been mercenaries from eastern Europe. They had only managed to identify seventeen of the attackers so far and those seventeen were enough to have three different ministries looking to reward Harry for eliminating several of their most wanted criminals. Harry was more worried that Riddle was bringing in these mercenaries since nobody on their side had any idea how many there were or how fanatical they were likely to be. That meant that they had no idea how or when Riddle might strike at them. He did warn the aurors that at least two of the Death Eaters had spoken English without an accent and that their orders had been followed by the others. Tonks and Montrose nodded and reminded him that they had seen that in his memories making Harry feel just a little foolish.
Before they left Montrose assured him that the memory had already been destroyed and only a few people Minister Bones trusted implicitly had been allowed to see it. He also added with a grin that they had a summons to deliver for the Headmaster to appear before the Wizengamot to explain what measures were being taken to protect the nation's children. As he watched them walk away Harry considered everything he had learnt. He decided that he wouldn't act until the holidays. He had the skeleton of a plan to get into Gringotts and it would just have to be ready by the time Easter rolled around. I can't afford to let Riddle gain too much strength; the world can't afford that kind of threat.
:-:-:-:-:
After a week Harry's leg had completely healed and he had happily returned the cane to Madam Pomfrey. During that week of recovery he had not been able to move around the castle at his usual speed and that meant that he was frequently stopped by students who wanted to thank him for his courage and skill in defeating the Death Eaters and the dementors. Harry tried to be as sensitive and understanding as possible to the students who came up to him despite his furious aversion to attention that he still had left over from the Dursleys. He was greatly helped in this effort by the fact that Hermione received as many plaudits as he did. The students who had been in Hogsmeade clearly remembered the girl who had swept in like an avenging angel to drive off the dementors and get them the hell out of there while she covered their flight.
During the two weeks after that the school started slowly adjusting to the changes that had been forced upon them. There were only three Weasleys walking the Halls these days and eight other students were missing too. It was unnerving that Fred and George hadn't pulled a single prank since the Hogsmeade attack even if it was understandable. Ron had drawn closer to Lavender and the two were rarely seen apart any more. Harry thought that she might be using glamours to hide her pregnant stomach since he couldn't see a sign of it. Hermione had told him that Lavender was throwing up nearly every morning so there was little doubt that she was, given what else they knew. Both Harry and Hermione wondered if this would be the push that the redhead needed to become a good father to the child he had sired. The care he was showing its mother gave them hope.
By the time the Ravenclaw-Slytherin match rolled around the mood had settled a little inside Hogwarts, though it was decidedly more somber than it had been before the attack. As a tribute to the students who had fallen during the attack, both teams played with a black armband around their upper left arms and the match started with a minute of silence to remember the fallen. The Slytherins showed that they felt unencumbered enough to play their usual style, while the Ravenclaws hadn't quite recovered to the same extent and ended up losing the match even though Cho caught the snitch. Gryffindor's match against Hufflepuff two weeks later was something Harry had been looking forward to since the beginning of the year, but when it actually rolled around the atmosphere was not as exuberant as the final match between Harry and Cedric might otherwise have been. Cedric had done a good job building a team, but Gryffindor still had most of the players from what a large proportion of the students still acknowledged had been one of the best teams to ever play at Hogwarts, even if their Beaters were playing with less than their usual flair. As a result Hufflepuff lost by a massive margin as the Chaser line racked up the score before Harry caught the Snitch and put the Badgers out of their misery.
The rest of the term leading up to the Easter Holidays saw the students determinedly going about their business. Much like Harry, Sirius and the Grangers had during the Christmas break, everyone was determined to not let the threat hanging over their heads dictate their actions and, just like the two families had discovered, they were unable to completely banish the spectre of war. Harry noticed that his Defence classes were now being attended by everyone in the castle who didn't have a Death Eater parent and a few who did. His students were invariably attentive and worked hard to master anything he taught them. Those that had lost a friend or family member in the attack worked themselves into the ground with a determination that he could easily recognize.
In the final run-up to the Easter Holidays Harry noticed that most of the students were desperate to get home and spend time with their families. For him it meant that he had a clash of wills with Hermione. She was heading home to spend time with her parents and had noticed that Harry had signed on to stay at the castle. His reasoning that he needed to spend as much time as possible in the Room working on ways to take out Riddle didn't cut mustard with her. Even though Harry had told her of the prophecy over the summer, Hermione hadn't given up hope that someone else might take the burden off of Harry's shoulders. She begged, cajoled and threatened in the hope that he might join her on the Express but Harry wouldn't be moved.
"Hermione, we both know that the more time I spend training, the greater my chances of seeing the end of this thing. Whether or not the prophecy is real is irrelevant at this point. Riddle believes it is and that it applies to us. He isn't going to let it go, so sooner or later I'm going to have to face him again and I mean to be prepared when I do." He told her the night before she was due to leave the castle. "Think of it this way: if I spend a week working on destroying him now, we might have months of holidays in the future." Hermione scowled at him before blowing out a massive sigh.
"I know, Harry. I just don't like it." she admitted.
"By the Ancients, Mi, I'm not asking you to! I certainly don't." Harry exclaimed as he pulled her into a hug. Hermione resisted for a moment before allowing herself to melt into the embrace.
"Maybe I should stay here. I could help you train." Her muffled voice sounded up from his chest.
"You should go home, Hermione. You and your parents have been having a rough year so far and I think you need to see them as much as they need to see you." Harry told her gently, not wanting Hermione caught up in his admittedly dangerous plans for the holidays.
"What about you and Sirius, Harry?" Hermione asked, her head shooting up from where she had buried it. "The two of you have been having a hard time for far longer. Don't you need to see him?"
"It's different, Mi." Harry sighed, "Sirius and I are still kind of getting used to not being alone anymore. We both agreed that we are going to ease into this. I already called him and he said that he understood my reasons for doing this and to not even think of going hunting for Riddle without him."
"Well, the same goes for me then!" Hermione said looking very fierce as she did so. "You will have to teach me what you learn when I get back because I will not be left behind when you face him."
"I promise I'll teach you what I learn, Mi." Harry said solemnly. Hermione searched his eyes for any sign that he might not mean what he said. When she found none she said "Go to bed, Harry, and remember to silence your curtains. I have a feeling you will be having a very restless night." She then claimed his mouth in a demanding kiss before sauntering up the stairs to the girls' dorms. It took Harry a moment to get his bearings before he headed up to his own dorm despite the fact that it was only just after curfew for the younger students. He could certainly do with a restless night.
:-:-:-:-:
Thursday night found Harry Potter sitting on his broom under his invisibility cloak and a Disillusionment Charm. He was hovering over the statue of Oliver Cromwell behind the Palace of Westminster as he had the previous five nights. He had decided to make use of the time he was afforded by the holidays to stake out the covert entrance to Gringotts in the hope of spotting one of the Lestranges. After the first night he had learnt to bring a book to pass the time and to occasionally sit on the statue to give his rear end a break from sitting on the broom. This was clearly a very seldom-used entrance.
Harry hoped one of the Lestranges would show up before the end of the holidays; he wouldn't be able to keep this up once classes started again. After the Express had left Harry had started on his new schedule. One of the elves would pop an invisible Harry down to London at six in the evening and he would keep watch over the secret entrance to the Goblin-run bank until six in the morning. Harry would then sleep the morning away before spending his afternoon studying, training and getting his homework done. During the hours Harry was at Hogwarts Dobby kept watch over the entrance to ensure that nobody used it even though Harry doubted that it would be used during the daytime. He just couldn't imagine a Death Eater blending in with the throngs of tourists that flocked to the centre of British government every day.
Harry had just settled down on Cromwell's shoulders with his book on Intent Reading Wards open on the Lord Protectors head when he thought he saw something moving in the darkness. He closed the book and tucked it into an expanded pocket before grabbing his broom. A moment later he was convinced that someone was moving about and while it was hardly certain that it was one of the people he had been waiting for, he felt himself tensing. If he hadn't already been focused on the possibility of an intruder he might have missed the sound of someone landing after vaulting over the wall that surrounded the Cromwell Green. As quietly as he could Harry got his feet under him and mounted his Firebolt. He watched a shadow detach itself from the wall and move towards the statue. The robes it was wearing gave away that this was clearly a witch or wizard, but kept Harry from finding out the person's identity.
Harry flew down as close as he thought he could without giving himself away in an effort to determine whether this person was worth the risk of following them down into Gringotts. He held his breath as the figure approached the lion at the base of the statue, reached out a pale, bony hand and scratched it behind the ears. The lion came to life and stood up fixing the figure with an implacable stare. Those pale hands reached up and pulled back the hood that had concealed the figure's identity. Long black hair spilled back from under the hood, but Harry never noticed. His eyes were locked onto the mysterious figure's face. The face of the woman who had murdered Sirius and tortured Hermione. With an enormous force of will Harry refrained from drawing his wand and cursing the bitch into little pieces. He focused on the fact that his luck had taken a turn for the better for once and ran through his plan for this situation in a matter of seconds.
While he was doing that the lion had concluded its inspection and stepped to the side revealing a set of stairs spiralling down into the darkness. Bellatrix moved forward quickly, lighting her wand as her foot hit the first step. Harry flew in as closely behind her as he dared, barely squeezing past the lion which was already returning to its post. As it settled down the light from the outside faded to nothing leaving Harry and Bellatrix dependent on her wand-light to see anything as they proceeded down the staircase.
Halfway down Harry nearly had the life scared out of him when Bellatrix whirled around and her wand light hit him in the eyes. He froze where he was as her eyes roved over the staircase behind her following the beam of light she was moving around. Eventually she turned around again and kept moving. Harry increased the distance between them just to be safe, or as safe as one could be when tailing a powerful and psychopathic witch. After several minutes Harry noticed that there was light pouring through an archway at the bottom of the stairs. When they reached it and Bellatrix stepped through she was immediately greeted by a goblin Harry was surprised to recognise.
"Madam Lestrange, welcome to Gringotts. My name is Griphook. How may I help you today?" Huh, the universe does love its little ironies, doesn't it? Harry thought to himself as he watched Bellatrix's mouth twist into a disgusted sneer.
"Take me down to my vault, Goblin." she demanded imperiously. Griphook bowed her towards a cart and once she had passed him straightened up with a surprisingly similar sneer of disgust on his face. By the time Bellatrix had settled herself into the cart the goblin's face was once again an impassive mask. He got into the cart in front of her and in the next moment the cart had rocketed off down the tracks and into the caverns ahead.
Harry was grateful for his Firebolt's speed as he flattened himself to the handle and raced after the little cart. He twisted and turned following along behind them and hoped that the flapping of his invisibility cloak was not audible over the rush of the wind and the rattle of the cartwheels on the tracks. He cursed himself for a fool for not having Silenced the damn thing while he had a chance. The flight was demanding enough of his attention that he knew he wouldn't be able to cast it until the cart slowed down. He had cast his spells at Hogwarts to prevent the Ministry from recording underage magic being performed and hadn't dared to take a chance to perform the Charm when Bellatrix had almost caught him; he had to wait until they were definitely on Gringotts' territory. He had found out that Gringotts was considered sovereign territory and that the Ministry's detection-net didn't penetrate their wards any more than it did the Fidelius Charm form a depressingly boring book on the establishment of the modern Ministry for Magic.
When the cart eventually did slow down Harry was surprised. They hadn't encountered the Thief's Downfall at any time during their journey. He absently thought that it must have been because their infiltration wasn't exactly subtle last time around. The tellers had clearly been suspicious and Harry had been inexperienced in the use of the Imperius Curse. Dumb luck had gotten them through that harrowing mission and he wasn't sure what to think of the fact that his entire plan essentially rested on that same dumb luck. He decided to just hope against hope that it would hold. Either way the cart's two passengers seemed to be oblivious to the fact that they had been followed.
Griphook and Bellatrix had exited the cart and were now making their way past the Ukranian Ironbelly. With the noise that Griphook was making with the Clankers Harry doubted that he needed to Silence himself now. Instead he drifted gently behind the witch and the goblin. When they got to the door Harry recognized as the entrance to the Lestrange vault Griphook pressed his hand to it and the door melted away. With barely a look at the goblin to assure herself that he was remaining outside Bellatrix swept into her vault. Harry saw that Griphook was once again directing a sneering look at the dark woman's back and decided that he wouldn't get a better chance than this.
Harry manoeuvred his broom quietly behind Griphook and drew his wand. He took a moment to gather himself and check his aim and then poured a massive amount of magic into a silent Banishing Charm aimed at Griphook's unprotected back. The charm hit the unsuspecting goblin and flung him forward straight into Bellatrix. The force of the impact carried both of them into a pile of treasure. As the two bodies hit the mountain of gold and precious jewels the traps that Harry remembered from his last visit to this vault activated.
Harry ignored the tortured screams of two people being buried by burning treasure. As soon as his Banishing Charm had struck Griphook he had cast a Summoning Charm on Hufflepuff's Cup. The golden chalice came soaring out of the vault. Harry snatched it out of the air with a Seeker's grace and gritted his teeth against the curses that were burning his hand while several copies of the cup clattered to the ground below him. It only took seconds for the curses to run their course.
As soon as the cup had stopped multiplying Harry heaved the Firebolt's handle around and raced out of there with the cup clutched to his chest. Behind him he heard the muffled clunk that signaled that the vault had resealed itself. Harry shot passed the blind dragon before it realized that there was an intruder. His timely departure didn't stop it from roaring and sending out massive gouts of flame in an attempt to hit him.
As he raced up trying to retrace the twisting path they had taken down to the vault Harry heard sirens starting to wail. Shit. They must have noticed my spells down there. The ministry might not have any monitoring charms in Gringotts, what with it being sovereign goblin territory, but it looked like the goblins did. Harry bent himself closer to the handle and tried to coax some more speed from his faithful broomstick.
After several minutes of flying Harry saw a light up ahead. Uncaring of whether he had found the entrance he had come in through Harry rocketed onward. As he came closer he saw a dozen heavily armed goblins facing him. As he got closer he heard one of them bark something in Gobbledegook and the next thing he knew the air was filled with crossbow bolts. A desperate lunge upwards took him clear of their trajectories. Once past the volley of projectiles Harry aimed his broom just above the goblins' heads. I really should have Silenced the damn cloak.
Several of the goblins were already reloading their crossbows while the rest kept their spears pointed up trying to eliminate any room for the intruder to fly through. Taking his hand off of the broom's shaft Harry flicked his wand into his hand and launched a powerful wide area cutting curse at the forest of spears facing him. Harry had to admit that the goblin guards had guts; they barely flinched when their spearheads clattered down around their ears. Instead they started swinging the butts they were left with like clubs.
As Harry shot overhead one of the goblins caught him with a glancing blow that caused him to swerve dangerously close to a wall. Harry managed to right his course by flinging himself into a barrel roll away from the wall. His control over the broom was slipping as he was hanging on to the cup with one hand and his wand and the shaft with the other. He still managed to duck through a familiar archway and wrenched his broom up. Underneath him he heard the impact of half a dozen crossbow bolts on the first steps of the staircase Bellatrix had descended less than half an hour ago.
Harry's heart was in his throat as he shot upward. He shifted the hand holding Hufflepuff's Cup so it was also gripping the shaft. His grip was enormously awkward and Harry knew it was about to get worse. As soon as he felt he had a firm enough grip with that hand he let go with the other and lifted his wand above his head and cried out "Defodio!" He watched carefully as the light of the Gouging Spell shot up ahead of him. When it had a sufficient head start Harry shot off several Reductor Curses to deal with any falling debris.
When the Gouging Spell hit the bottom of the statue that marked the entrance the effect was spectacular. Anyone standing outside would have seen the lion and Cromwell's pedestal being vaporised while the statue of the Lord Protector was launched into the air followed by several blasts of red light which exploded against pieces of rubble that were left behind. The dust that resulted from the blasts was suddenly pulled into a cone pointed at the sky as something shot through it at high speed.
As Harry shot through the London night sky he was carefully thanking every lucky star he might or might not have. He kept flying until he was over the A5, or as the wizarding world still called it: Watling Street. He followed the ancient road up past Saint Albans and landed in a field near Luton. There he removed his cloak and took a moment to let his whirlwind raid on Gringotts sink in. Thirty-five he thought dully. I've killed thirty-five people now and I seem to be planning out their demises further and further beforehand. Harry felt a shiver run down his spine as guilt threatened to slam into him only to be stopped from doing more than touching him as it hit a wall of Hermione still loves me instead. He drew in a shuddering breath and called for Dobby. Harry asked the faithful little elf to pop him back up to Shrieking Shack. Dobby canceled the Disillusionment Charm and then grabbed his master's outstretched hand and popped them out. Upon their arrival in the Shack, Harry also called for Winky.
"Winky, could you please fetch me some Burn Salve and Bruise Remover?" Harry gritted out. "Dobby, if you would get me the Sword of Gryffindor again? I have another item with the same curse as that diary." Dobby's face hardened as both elves bowed and popped out. They returned simultaneously with the requested items. "Alright, let's take care of the curse first. I'll feel better when it's gone."
Harry placed the cup on the floor of the Shack, wincing as it tore off some of his skin that had been fused to the metal by the Flagrante Curse's heat. He held out his good hand and accepted the sword from Dobby. He raised it above his head and brought it whistling down on the cup. The sword cut cleanly through the gold which peeled away from the sword like wilting petals. A moment later the horrid shriek of a dying Horcrux filled the air. Outside, a drunk wizard ran all the way back to the Three Broomsticks to tell everyone about the latest blood-curdling incident involving the most haunted building in Britain.
Inside Harry sank to the floor in relief and exhaustion. In a flash Winky was at his side quietly demanding to see her master's injured hand. When Harry held it out she tutted and started gently applying the Burn Salve to the ravaged appendage. While she was busy Harry asked Dobby to return the Sword of Gryffindor to the Headmaster's office. When Winky was done applying the Salve to his hand she popped out, only to return a moment later with a roll of gauze which she carefully wrapped around the injured limb. Next she vanished his trouser-leg and started applying the Bruise Remover to his knee. When she was done Harry thanked her for the care she had shown him and started for the trapdoor that covered the passage to the Whomping Willow.
"Where is Master going?" Winky asked in a sharp tone. Harry straightened up and blinked at the assertiveness she was showing.
"Um, my bed?" he answered her, unsure of what had brought this on.
"Master is not to be going through the tunnel. He will hurt his hand." Winky told him resolutely. She stepped up next to Harry and grabbed his good wrist. With a pop the two vanished and reappeared in Harry's otherwise empty dorm. With a snap of her fingers Harry's clothes were switched for his pyjamas.
"Master will be resting and not adventuring until he is well again." Winky told him in a lecturing tone of voice. Still slightly bemused Harry got into bed with a small smile on his lips. Seeing him doing as he was told, Winky nodded approvingly and popped out. Harry settled down after setting an alarm for the morning so that he could readjust his circadian rhythm to a pattern more suited to his classes. Five down, one to go was his last thought before he drifted off.
:-:-:-:-:
Harry was awoken from his peaceful slumber by an insistent buzzing. As he struggled to get his thoughts in order he realized the noise was coming from his nightstand. Pushing himself up into a sitting position he grabbed his glasses and saw that the noise was coming from his communication mirror vibrating to tell him he had an incoming call. Carefully he picked it up and said "Come in." The mirror's surface turned cloudy for a moment before revealing his girlfriend's worried eyes. Those same eyes performed a quick visual inspection and finding him unharmed, if a little groggy from being woken, turned hard.
"Harry James Potter! What the hell were you thinking?!" Hermione yelled into the mirror.
"Huh?" was Harry's intelligent response. "You just woke me up, Mi. What is it you think I've done?"
"You broke into Gringotts!" Whatever response Harry had been expecting, an accurate identification of his covert mission was not it.
"What? How did you know?" It belatedly occurred to Harry that his response was basically a confession.
"Harry, how could you? You told me that you were going to be training to fight Riddle. You never mentioned illegal activity that could start a war between wizards and goblins. What possessed you?" Hermione was working herself into a proper rant and Harry was thankful that she still had to breathe.
"Hermione!" He said loudly just as she was drawing breath to continue her tirade. "Do you remember the conversation we had last summer in Sirius' study?" Hermione looked wrong-footed for a moment before she realised what he was talking about. "There is one less of those things in the world right now." Hermione was clearly working through what this meant for the war, her boyfriend and her family as her face took on a thoughtful cast. Suddenly she shook herself.
"You still took a ridiculous risk, Harry. Do you have any idea of how dangerous it was to do what you did?"
"Yes, I do as a matter of fact. I am getting very curious about how you know what I did though." Harry answered her. Hermione's mirror shifted around, the blur of colours making Harry feel slightly nauseous. When the image settled down again Harry was looking at a copy of the Daily Prophet.
Death Eater Dies During Gringotts Break-In
"The paper says that two wizards broke into Gringotts and one died while the other got away, reportedly by broomstick. Sirius blew his top when he read it. He was ranting about something you asked him during the Christmas hols. I think you may be grounded come the summer." Hermione told him as he tried to read the article through the mirror. A moment later the blur of colours filled the mirror again and when it stopped Harry was once again looking at Hermione's face. "So how badly were you injured?" she asked.
"Not badly." Harry said. When Hermione kept a glare aimed at him through their mirrors Harry sighed. "A burnt hand and a bruised knee; barely worth mentioning."
"Tell me everything." Hermione demanded.
"Where are you? Or more to the point could someone be listening in?" Harry asked.
"We're at Sirius' place. Mum and Dad say that our house is almost rebuilt and it's easier for them to reach it and their practice the muggle way from here." Hermione told him. "They want to get back into the swing of things as much as possible."
"That's good to hear. Unfortunately, I'm afraid the explanation will have to wait until you get back in that case." Harry said regretfully. "Your parents can't learn Occlumency and, while the wizarding world might think they're dead I don't want to take any chances. Not with this; not when we're so close." Hermione reluctantly nodded.
"Alright then, but you'll tell me everything when I get back?" At Harry's nod she changed tack. "Have you been to see Madam Pomfrey for your injuries yet?"
"No." Seeing Hermione winding up for a lecture Harry quickly added an explanation. "I can't explain them and I'd rather not even try. You know how Dumbledore's been and you know he'll hear of it. Winky is doing a great job taking care of me." The conversation settled down after that though Harry's adventure from the night before remained something of an elephant in the room. When they said goodbye and signed off Harry collapsed back into his bed. He was awake now and wouldn't be getting back to sleep so he might as well get his day started.
After he had taken a shower Harry called Winky. She reapplied the Burn Salve, bandages and Bruise Remover. Once she was done Dobby popped in with a tray full of breakfast. Harry was a little surprised at, but grateful for his elves' solicitousness. He spent the rest of the day in the Room of Requirement reading and studying. When he fell asleep that night he couldn't help rehearsing what he would say to Hermione when she got to Hogwarts the next day.
As it turned out Hermione was able to wait until everyone had gone to bed before she was popped into Harry's bed by Winky. Knowing what she wanted Harry held up a finger to his lips before softly asking Winky to stay and also calling Dobby. He had the two elves take them to the corridor just outside the Room and requested somewhere they wouldn't be overheard.
Once they were inside Harry told Hermione all about his mission into Gringotts. He told her that he had known that Bellatrix had been given one of the Horcruxes to keep in her vault; how he hadn't had any idea of how to get it before Sirius mentioned buying Harry a Firebolt over the Christmas holidays. He told her about his conversation with Sirius and the amount of planning he had done in the following months. He told her that he had known that it would be dangerous and pointed out that any undertaking to get this particular Horcrux would have been. He outlined why he thought that this was the best option and why he felt he had to take the chance now. When Harry finished speaking Hermione was giving him a considering look.
"Was this venture into larceny the reason you encouraged me to go home, Harry?" she asked him.
"Yes and no." Harry answered with a shrug. "I won't deny that it was convenient that I could try this without you worrying, but I meant what I said when I told you it was important to spend time with your family and that it was important that I work on destroying Riddle as fast as possible." Hermione considered his answer before she slowly nodded.
"I can see that." she said carefully. "Next time though I want you to tell me beforehand. I might worry, but at least I'll know where you are. What would have happened if you had gone down there and one of those crossbow bolts had hit you in the eye? I would have had to hear that you died doing something illegal and you would never get the chance to explain it to me." There was a definite tremor in her voice by the end.
"Okay. When I go after the last Horcrux, I'll give you advance notice if I can." Harry promised quietly. Hermione nodded.
"In that case I think we need to get back to your bed, Harry." she said in a husky voice. "Dobby! Winky! Could you pop us up to Harry's bed?" The elves bowed to Hermione.
"Yes, Mistress." the answered her in unison before popping the two teens away. When they landed in Harry's bed Dobby and Winky popped out before Harry could ask them why they had changed the way they addressed Hermione. He noticed that Hermione was looking a little trout-slapped at the spot where they had last seen their smallest friends.
"I'll ask them about it tomorrow, Mi." he said as he drew her down to the mattress with him. For a while they simply held each other enjoying the physical closeness that they had been missing for a week now. Slowly, holding each other turned to kissing which eventually grew into more. Soon the two teens had forgotten about any awkwardness between them as they lost themselves in each other.