A Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure

Well, RL is still being a bitch. I've got more commitments than hair on my head (and I've got a hella-lot of hair), not nearly enough time, and about 50 pounds of shit that I'm continuously trying to shove into a 5 pound sack. So, I do apologize for the markedly long delay. I doubt any original readers are still interested, but I missed writing, so I'm back.

1576 words- not too bad for a quickie chappie that I'm writing while I procrastinate instead of working on research for lab. :D

Ps. Spoilers for all HP books.

You have been warned.

Also, I'm not going to go into super huge major detail about the Horcruxes. JKR already did that. I'm not really concerned about the Horcruxes. I'm more interested in the people in the story, their relationships, and other things. In this story, the Horcruxes are all the same objects as they were in the originals, but the manner in which some are destroyed changes. Since this story takes place directly after HBP.

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Hermione woke with a headache and scratchy eyes. She vaguely remembered crying herself to sleep after an intense discussion with Madame Pomfrey. The young witch was sore, tired, and unhappy that her rescuer was back in harm's way.

Grumpily she surveyed the room. There was an ornate clock above a mahogany desk that displayed the time to be a little before midnight. There were several vases of flowers and many cards on the table to her left. On her right, someone had set up a calendar with the days that had passed marked off with large X's. The person had even taken the care to write in details of the time Hermione had missed, with things such as "Hermione's capture," "Hermione's escape," and "Hermione's first awakening" written in precise letters on the proper dates. There were also framed pictures of her with friends and family on the table, some photos magical and others muggle.

Hermione couldn't suppress a small smile. Someone was still looking out for her. A smaller photograph on the table caught her eye. There was only one person in it. With a great surge of effort, Hermione bit her tongue and pulled herself towards the table, grimacing in pain. She managed to reach her hand around the frame; it fit neatly in her palm. She drew it close and saw it was of Draco. His hands were casually stuffed in his pockets and his face was turned toward the camera, hair perfect and smug smile reminiscent of the cocky Draco she knew.

Letting out a soft sigh, Hermione drew the picture close to her and cradled it, focusing her energies on staying calm. She didn't know what she and Malfoy were, but was sure that enemies no longer could classify their relationship.

A quiet knock at the door drew her away from her thoughts. She grinned when she saw a messy head of black hair poke its way around the door. "Hermione! I thought you'd be sleeping." The savior of the wizarding world kept his voice low.

"Hi, Harry," the young woman returned. "I just woke up actually. How are you?"

Harry made his way into the room quickly and took a seat on the edge of her bed. "I think it's my job to ask that of you, silly." He glanced over at the table and frowned. "Your dinner's gone." A snap of his fingers summoned a house elf who was sent to fetch some food.

"I'm fine, Harry," she intoned, not sure how she could capture everything that was right and wrong in a simple response.

He drew in a long breath and opened his mouth, but shut it quickly when the house elf returned with a tray of soup and vegetables. "Here, eat," he told her. Harry helped her sit up in bed and put several pillows behind her back for support.

Slowly, each move deliberate and effortful, Hermione fed herself, brushing off Harry's polite offer to help. She was tired of being dependent and hungry. Before Harry could begin speaking again, Hermione spoke up. "So, Malfoy brought me here?" she asked, bluntly determining the conversation topic.

Harry smiled and responded, "Yeah. We were all surprised." His brow furrowed. "Well, I don't think the senior members of the Order were. The knew about Malfoy's loyalties, but the rest of us were shocked. There's a lot to catch you up on."

Hermione knew he was talking about more than just Malfoy. "I'm all ears," she told him, content to just listen and eat.

"Well, first off, Snape is good."

Grateful she was in between bites, Hermione's face turned to one of shock.

"Yeah, here's how it went. Snape was forced to take this thing called an Unbreakable Vow to kill Dumbledore if Malfoy, the younger one, failed. I guess it all goes back to when Dumbledore's hand got poisoned by the Horcrux. Dumbledore made him promise that if he were ever put into a position which would mean the end of Dumbledore's life or compromising his position as a spy, Snape had to preserve his Death Eater status. Snape wasn't happy with this at all, but figured it'd be a long way away. However, Dumbledore was dying quicker than anyone, except Madame Pomfrey, knew. So Mrs. Malfoy demanded of Snape to take an Unbreakable Vow to protect Malfoy, the younger one, and help him finish his job, of killing Dumbledore, if he failed. Well, Malfoy failed. He froze up there on the tower. Snape wasn't going to do it; apparently, Dumbledore was like a father to him, but Dumbledore said something that made him do it. If Snape hadn't done it, the Unbreakable Vow would have killed him."

Hermione's mind reeled trying to take in all this information at once. "That puts things into perspective," she murmured.

Harry nodded and continued, "Well, Malfoy and Snape ran off, like we saw, and Snape apparently hid the younger Malfoy while the Death Eaters and Voldemort cooled off. Snape and Malfoy discussed it and it was decided that Malfoy would take the mark. Er, I don't think he had much of a real choice when it came to that. Some stuff between him and Dumbledore and Snape. I don't really know the whole story. But, anyway, Snape has been worth his weight in gold. He is in the perfect position to get as much information as possible and not questioned by the Death Eaters at all. Malfoy looks like the perfect protégé and humbly took his punishment for not killing Dumbledore."

Harry had said a lot of this in an animated rush and kind of slumped at the end taking one big breath. He looked up and met Hermione's attentive stare. "I'm glad you're okay," he told her.

Hermione flashed him a smile. She didn't know how much others were informed about her condition. Obviously Lupin knew something and Madame Pomfrey was the most informed, but Hermione didn't want to worry Harry if he was unaware. "That's certainly quite the story," she said, trying to distract him from her.

"Yeah," Harry reflected, still a bit overwhelmed at times. "It gets better. Bill and Fleur have wed. It was a small ceremony with just family. They were going to have a huge celebration, but decided against it not wanting the event to become a target for a Death Eater attack. I was able to leave the Dursley's yesterday; you don't know how worried I was when I'd heard you'd been taken." Harry's eyes flicked down to the silver ring he was wearing. "I knew I couldn't do anything that required leaving without voiding the blood protection; which I would have done in a heartbeat if it had meant saving you, though the second I walked off the property, I bet 50 Order members would have jumped me and made me stay, but we didn't have a fixed location on you. We knew nothing and had no leads." Harry wrung his hands together, becoming anxious.

Hermione placed her hand on his causing him to still. "I'm here; I made it out alive. Don't fret over this anymore," she said gently. "Was there more to the story?"

Taking a steadying breath, Harry continued. "Yeah, sorry. I saw Voldemort."

The silence in the room was palpable. "Come again?" Hermione managed to choke out.

"I saw Voldemort. He tried to get me with the killing curse. I was at the Dursley's. There were several Order members around the perimeter, but Voldemort still showed up. He was mad about something; I'm pretty sure it was your escape. He fired the killing curse at me. I threw up a block even though nothing is supposed to be able to protect you from that. It did this weird thing where it sliced into several rays of light and one hit my scar. He screamed and collapsed. A Death Eater picked him up, ran, and Apparated away at the edge of the Dursley's. The weird thing is, my scar doesn't hurt anymore. At all."

Yawning, Hermione shook her head in disbelief. "Next time I decide to disappear for a bit, I'll make sure to bring a cell phone or owl. I can't believe how much has happened."

Harry chuckled. "There's more," he told her teasingly.

Eyes going wide, Hermione gestured for him to continue. She yawned and took a small sip of her water.

"Well, we have found several more Horcruxes. Snape took out Nagini. Voldemort has no idea and thinks the snake is safe at the old Riddle house. Hufflepuff's cup was destroyed by Kingsley, Tonks, and Lupin. Ravenclaw's diadem was destroyed by Ron, Fred, George, and Neville. Only Ron knew what it really was, but the other three knew they were destroying some dark object. This leaves only the locket of Slytherin! We are so close, Hermione. People may soon be able to have normal lives again."

Harry's eyes were misty as were Hermione's. They were so close. Hermione was charged, though her body was exhausted. She smiled sleepily at Harry. "This is wonderful news," she sighed. "We are truly close." Her eyelids were drooping and Harry could see she was close to sleep.

A slight frown flickered across Harry's face. "We have no idea where the locket could be," he let her know. "But I'm sure we'll catch a break. We always do."

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End chapter

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Okay, so it's super short. But it is an update. I know where I'm going with this.

Yay!

Please review.

No flames. I can take constructive criticism, but no bashing. That gets old and annoying really quickly.

I do solemnly swear that this much "story dialogue" will not happen again. I promise action, not stories. But I had a lot to set up. So I feel it's justified

Now review

Pretty please.