Harry Potter and the Blood Moon

Everything Hermione had ever practiced saying to Harry went right out of her mind the second he opened the door. He looked exactly as dream Harry did, right down to the new glasses and longer hair. The only difference was that real Harry wore an expression of disbelief and intense shock.

Harry stared at Hermione with a dumbfounded expression. After all this time and all the searching, here she was, standing on his doorstep as though she had heard the will of his heart to find her. The only other thought that kept running through his mind was how absolutely beautiful she was. She had always been beautiful to him but it seemed as though the power of the undead magnified her beauty from something of reality to something that was clearly otherworldly.

Hermione cleared her throat gently and broke the silence.

"Hello Harry. May I come in?"

He opened the door enough to allow her passage and then closed it and locked the bolt the moment she was inside. He was bound and determined not to let her get away again. Harry led her to the sofa and sat down heavily, patting the seat beside him as indication to sit. She did so gently, barely eliciting a sound from the couch. They sat in silence a few moments longer until Harry finally found his voice.

"Hermione, please tell me that its really you. Tell me Im not dreaming."

The look on his face suggested he was living a dream come true and Hermione found a small amount of joy in telling him that it was all real.

"I'm no dream Harry. I'm here."

"But, I've been looking for you for ten years, how is that it was as simple as you apparating onto my doorstep?"

Harry's comment threw Hermione for a loop. She shook her head slightly, almost daring to believe what he had said.

"You were looking for me? For ten years?"

Harry chuckled and it was warm and inviting, not like the sound that Hermione often heard escaping her own cold, dry mouth.

"Of course I looked for you. Did you just think that I was going to forget about you and move on with my life?"

Hermione hung her head ever so slightly, half ashamed and half hopeful.

"Yes. I thought you would have a wife and a ton of children by now. Not to mention I figured you would have a nice normal 9-5 desk job."

Harry full out laughed this time and Hermione was taken aback.

"No, Hermione. I'm not married and have no children, well to my knowledge anyway. And that nice boring desk job I always dreamed of turned into being the Head of the Auror Division."

She smiled for only a moment before getting her thoughts back in order. She had wanted nothing more than to see him for the last ten years but now was not the time to reminisce. She had a specific purpose for her visit and the time for its relevance was drawing near.

"Harry, I hate to cut this conversation so short, but there is something very important that I need to discuss with you; it's the reason I'm here."

Harry shifted slightly on the couch, a worried expression coming over his face. He cleared his throat slightly and nodded for her to continue.

Hermione took a deep breath and looked Harry dead in the eyes.

"What I am about to tell you will no doubt upset and anger you but I feel that it is necessary that I tell you everything that I can in order for you to understand the whole of the situation.

I have to kill Remus."

The silence that reverberated through the flat was as deafening as though there were a train passing through the living room. Harry sat motionless, waiting for her to continue. He said nothing. How could he; the love of his life just told him she had to kill the only remaining link to his parents. There had to be a logical and reasonable explanation.

"Go on."

"It all started when I first became a vampire. I came home, to see you. I wanted to make peace and well, I wanted to tell you how much I loved you just in case I never got the chance again. I came here but you were gone and I was waiting when Remus flooed me and asked me to meet him outside of the Shrieking Shack. I went, and I was ambushed. His pack of werewolves surrounded me and was prepared to attack but he stopped them. He told me that he had to kill me because of what I was; because of what I am. I had to defend myself, and we fought. I was going to kill him then, I know that now from looking back. I really wanted to do it. And he tried to kill me. He shoved a wooden stake all the way through my chest but I apparated out before he had the chance to do anything else. But before I left, I swore to him that I would kill him and now the time has come."

Harry sat in a befuddled mass on the couch. It felt as though his blood had turned to ice and his brain was having a very hard time comprehending what she had just told him. It kicked into over drive as she continued.

"The blood moon is in less than two weeks. That is when I must do it."

"Why?" Harry asked. His voice was dry and cracked as he spoke the single word. Hermione breathed heavily and rubbed her nose.

"Because the blood moon is almost like a ritual in vampire culture. It comes once a year and it's when all vampires are at their strongest. We are virtually unstoppable as it is but there's something about the Blood Moon that makes us literally impenetrable. Even I, who am already stronger than the rest, become something powerful and unbreakable."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I am afraid that Remus will try to lure you to his aide with false stories and lies. I..."

"You wanted to get to me first."

Hermione nodded slightly.

"In a way, you could say that. I need you to stay out of this war Harry. I need you to stay safe and out of the battle. It's not yours to fight and you will be out manned and your strength will be nothing, nothing, to what will clash. This is between Remus and myself and I just need you to know that and stay out of danger."

Harry stood and turned his back to Hermione as he walked across the wide room. He ran a hand through his hair and removed his glasses, setting them on the coffee table. He stopped and turned back to Hermione.

"Is this the only reason you've come? To tell me of this war?"

Without hesitation Hermione bit back all of her emotions. This was not the time for sweet reunions or heartfelt words. She didn't want to but knew that she had to cut Harry off at the chase.

"Yes."

Harry laughed bitterly and began pacing once more.

"So the ten years we've been apart hasn't made a damn difference to you? The resources and time that I've spent so ardently to find you mean nothing? Have you forgotten us that quickly? I have dreamed of the day we would meet again and it wasn't like this. You came to me to be with me, to try and make a new life despite the sour hands we've both been dealt. Can you honestly tell me that you feel nothing for me anymore? Stand in my face and tell me you don't love me."

Hermione flew from the sofa and was standing beneath Harry's nose in the blink of an eye. She wavered slightly as she smelled that scent that was uniquely his. Despite the fact that her brain was telling her to say no, she faltered and let a tiny moan escape her lips.

Harry heard it, had been waiting for it. He seized his chance and grabbed her, kissing her with all his might and praying that she respond.

It happened immediately. As soon as their lips met, Hermione responded with a burst of passion that Harry had never experienced before. They groped one another fiercely, as though it would all disintegrate the moment they separated. They kissed until neither could breathe and then they were still, leaning into one another, breathing heavily.

Hermione moved away from him slightly and turned to leave but Harry caught her face in his hands. He gazed deeply into her eyes as though he was searching for something.

"I know you're still in there. Under all of this hard and cold exterior the woman I love is still alive."

Hermione choked back a sob and let one tear float down her face. She turned and walked out of the flat, leaving a devastated Harry behind her.