Snow

Chapter Eight: Truth and Loyalty

Morning in the Great Hall couldn't be more uneventful as Harry, Ron and Hermione enjoyed brunch at the Gryffindor table. The uneventfulness all changed, of course, when dozens and dozens of all types and breeds of owls swooped in from the windows above, carrying letters and packages for those that they belonged to. Even Hedwig, the snowy white owl who belonged to Harry, came in with a letter. She swooped down and landed directly on Harry's shoulder, and he eagerly retrieved the parchment from her clutches.

"It's a letter from Sirius," Harry said happily, reading it. Ron and Hermione waited eagerly for Harry to finish his letter.

"He wants us to go down for Easter Holidays," Harry informed them after a short pause. "You guys are coming, right? This'll give you a chance to visit your family, Ron," Harry added, letting Hedwig nip at his bacon.

"I'm coming," Hermione said decisively, also returning to her breakfast. "I can't wait to see your new house."

"Well then, I'm coming, too. Though I just saw my family a few months ago," Ron said, narrowing his eyes at Harry so Hermione couldn't see.

It was all Harry could do to keep from laughing. More and more lately, Ron had become suspicious about his two best friends, and seemed very adamant in not letting Harry and Hermione have any time alone...whatever the circumstance.

"Good then, I'll write back to Sirius when we're done breakfast," Harry said pleasantly.

*
The departure for the Hogwarts Express was practically the opposite of when the students left for Christmas. This time around, most students hung back, while very few boarded the Express.

Harry was especially excited, because this would be his first time taking a look at his house. A month ago when Sirius had told him about the house, Harry had insisted that Sirius take it. There would be no time for Harry to look with him and besides, Harry trusted Sirius to find the perfect home for them. After all, he had been homeless just as long, if not longer, than Harry. The trip was surprisingly dull, they all took the same compartment and found little things to talk about. Soon though, Platform 9 3/4 loomed into view and the train pulled to an immediate stop.

Minutes later they found themselves face to face with Harry's godfather and Arthur Weasley.

"Was the trip alright?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah. Long though, I'm starved," Ron answered, rubbing his stomach for effect.

"You just ate! Loads and Loads of junk food..." Hermione said.

"Do you know any thing about growing boys, Hermione?" Ron asked defensively.

Hermione scowled and said, "I don't want to know, thanks." Everyone but Hermione laughed.

"I've managed to furnish the house, with the money that you lent me Harry--"

"I gave that money to you. I'm not taking it back," Harry argued with his godfather. This time Sirius scowled.

"I'm not having my godson pay for everything. I told you I'd take care of you. That was a promise," he said.

"But you've already paid for the house! I know my parents would want me to at least pay for something...the furniture seems fair enough!" Harry insisted.

"No offense, Harry. But you didn't know your parents. They left that money for you to make sure you'd be O.K. They made me your godfather because they wanted me to take care of you. Without your money. Understand?" It was an ending statement. The argument was over. Harry frowned, but nodded nonetheless.

*
"It's perfect," sighed Harry. The group of five wizards and one witch stood in front of the house that was now Harry and Sirius's home.

"Wait until you see inside...it's just...you'll love it," Sirius said, leading them all inside.

It was perfect inside as well, they all realized. The front door was oak, with a veranda leading to the back way. The front foyer, small though, was comfortable. While the flooring throughout the family room and recreation room was hardwood, the kitchen was floored with linoleum.

The kitchen was plain and comfortable, with plenty of cupboard space, a large pantry, and a back door which opened to the backyard. The kitchen also led into a carpeted dining room where a round wooden table, large enough to fit six, sat. A cute chandelier hung above it. Harry and the others followed Sirius into the family room where already there was a sofa, two armchairs, the fireplace as promised and a dark blue shaggy carpet, to match the furniture, sat in the middle of the floor. They went on like this for a while, looking at all the different rooms. Harry found himself comparing his new home to the Dursley home, and he realized just how much he loved his new house. Sirius couldn't have picked a better place to live for them both.

Harry couldn't help but give an audible gasp when he saw his room. An identical four poster bed to the one he had at Hogwarts took up most of his room. The rest was taken up by dressers and shelves. The room was perfect, already decorated and painted in a dark shade of green.

Mr. Weasley announced that he had to head back to the Ministry of Magic, and promised to see them in the evening, asking if Ron would be back for dinner.

"I'd be happy to have him. Though I do think you should go visit your mum," Sirius told Ron.

It was then that Harry suggested they all head over to the Weasleys for a visit. They spent a few hours laughing at Fred and George's antics and enjoyed a fresh, hot meal cooked by Molly Weasley.

Stomach full of a late lunch, Harry and Hermione went back to Harry's house, leaving Ron behind because, "You can spend time with your family Ron," his mother had insisted. And Harry and Hermione left behind a very put-out Ron.

Only until they reached the inside of the house did Harry start moving a little closer to Hermione, and only until they reached the house did Hermione start doing little things, like touching Harry's hand, or his shoulder, or brush up against him whenever she had the chance. This killed him of course, because even Sirius wasn't supposed to know about their secret relationship.

Dinner was delicious and as Harry helped Hermione tidy the kitchen they found themselves acting as though everything were normal, at least as normal as they would be if they were allowed to let their secret out. They finally let their guard down, however slightly, as Harry pressed a kiss to her temple, and she sighed. It was a lot less than what she wanted, but knew until they were absolutely alone...well...it was all they could do.

As Hermione thought more deeply about this, her mind traveled to Ron. He seemed to be more forceful than ever in not letting them be alone, which was starting to unhinge Hermione. Did he really know something? She asked Harry this as she continued drying the dishes.

"No...I don't think so," Harry answered her in a reassuring tone. "I think he's suspicious because of the ring, but he has no real proof. There was no way he could have caught us."

"Why would he care that you gave me a ring?" Hermione asked.

Harry gave a nonchalant shrug. "I think it's because you're only supposed to give jewelry to the woman you lo--...well to someone you really care about," Harry said, quickly recovering from his near spill of his love for her.

"That's odd," Hermione said but dropped the subject to Harry's relief.

*
"Are you two not ready for bed yet?" Sirius asked, sitting himself down on the dark blue armchair that faced the sofa.

"We're not tired...and what exactly are you doing?" Harry asked. Harry and Hermione suddenly realized that Sirius had walked in without a shirt on, wearing only a pair of draw string p.j bottoms.

"What? You don't go around like this at Hogwarts? Do you have any idea how hot it is wearing robes all day?" Sirius asked.

"Yes! But do you see me without a shirt on?" Harry asked him more sharply than he intended. A sudden thought jumped into his mind in a taunting whisper.

Jealous...you're jealous... Yeah? Harry thought to himself. Jealous of what? It was bad enough Hermione was in the room--

Now you're getting it... This is about Hermione. Not about Sirius, the thought continued.

Harry mentally groaned.

"What's so horrible, Harry?" Hermione said in Sirius's defense. "I don't have a problem with it," she added. And it was possibly the knowing look in her eye (did she know what he was thinking? How he felt?) that miffed him more than anything else.

"You don't find any thing wrong with it?" Harry snapped, turning his head to Hermione.

"You don't have to be such a child, Harry. I seriously don't find anything wrong with it. He's a grown man in his own house," Hermione told him, trying to sound as logical and mature as possible.

"Great," Harry said sarcastically.

Hermione didn't answer. She tore her gaze away from him, now fuming in her own anger. How dare he? Exactly what did he think she would do?
At this point Hermione stood up, crossed the room, and headed upstairs to the spare room.

"Let me know when you grow up, Potter!" she shouted over her shoulder.

Harry turned to Sirius, the scowl still on his face.

"Thanks, Sirius. Thanks a lot," he muttered.

"You'd better go talk to her. Wouldn't want her to think you were jealous," Sirius said, grinning.

Harry paled.

"I ...don't know what you're talking about..." he choked, but quickly climbed the stairs before Sirius could answer. His godfather's laughter followed him up the stairs as he made his way to the spare room Hermione was using.

The door was closed. Taking a deep breath, Harry knocked, waiting patiently for a reply.

The door tore open and Hermione stood there, looking as deadly and as beautiful as ever.

"Yes, milord?" she greeted sarcastically, holding the door open so he could walk in freely. He took the invitation and she closed the door behind them.

"I'm sorry, Hermione. I didn't mean...to...lose control. There's no real explanation for what I said down there. I was being a child," he said.

"Well... that much was evident. And you're forgiven," she said.

Harry's eyes widened. "It's that easy?" he asked. He would never have known, since he and Hermione rarely ever fought.

"Well you apologized...didn't you? That's good enough for me," she told him, grinning at the apparent relief that he felt. The smile faded to be replaced by a slight frown. However, Harry observed that she was not angry. She looked...upset.

Hermione stepped away from the door and walked towards the window, staring out at it, leaning her head against the cool glass.

Harry followed her and wrapped his arms around her slender figure, resting his chin on her shoulder. He took a deep breath, taking in her sweet smell. He felt her relax in his arms, leaning her head against his chest.

"Harry...do you trust me?" she asked.

He frowned. What kind of a question was that? Of course he trusted her. Then he realized that this question must have been thought of over the situation downstairs. He straightened and turned Hermione to face him, cupping her chin in his hand.

"Of course I trust you. Do you trust me?" he asked.

Hermione nodded furiously. "I trust you," she said softly.

He was about to confirm that with a kiss when Harry was blinded by a bright glow which illuminated the room. The light not only filled every dark corner in the room, but it also lit Harry up from the inside. The look on Hermione's face suggested that she was experiencing the same thing. As the brilliant glow began to fade, Harry pointed at Hermione's chest.

"The ring..." Harry said. The silver and gold ring was now softly glowing...the light fading with every passing second. Yet Harry was still awed by the fact that he could still feel it from the inside, as though the light really came from his own heart and would remain ignited forever.

"What do you think it means?" Hermione asked, looking up to meet his worried gaze.

"I don't feel like you're in danger. Do you?" Harry asked. This was just like last time, when they had had the sleepover. He had just woken up from a dream then. And this time it felt far more intense. What did that mean?

"No...I feel perfectly safe, content...just like last time," Hermione said softly, deep in thought.

"This ring...it makes no sense..." Harry said, completely frustrated.

He should have looked into it. Now Hermione could be in danger more than she already was, because of his stupidity. But this was the original, Ron had said. So someone wanted him to have this ring...or even for Hermione to have it. Could Voldemort have sent the ring? Harry strove to remain calm as he mentally berated himself. He was used to being more careful than that. Now Voldemort could have a clear shot at his love. But she said that she felt content. And so did he. So...

"It's OK, Harry. I'm fine. You're fine. The ring...well, we'll figure it out. We're good at finding the missing pieces to the puzzle. We're a team, always and forever," she said.

He took her hand and kissed it. "Always and forever," he echoed. "And I promise I'll never let anything happen to you. I'll always be there, loyal to the very end." he whispered. It would have sounded funny to anyone else. But at that moment tears sprung to Hermione's eyes.

"Yes. Loyal to the end," she repeated, his words echoing strongly in her mind and heart.

Another bright light, more blinding than the last, sprouted from the ring, and Hermione gasped from the ferocity of the light. And just like a moment before, it filled their minds and hearts, spreading to every dark corner in their beings. As the glow faded, Harry managed to find his voice.

"Now....? Do you feel OK?" he asked, because in truth, he couldn't feel she was in danger. In his mind, she was perfectly safe.

"I'm fine. Perfect really. Just like the other two times," she said. This was getting weird.

Harry was deep in thought though.

"The last time...it happened, we were talking about..."

"Trusting each other. It was like..." Hermione trailed off, not being able to form her thoughts into words.

"And this time...we were talking about..."

"Loyalty to each other," Hermione finished.

"And all three times it happened, what did you feel?" Harry asked, forming the thoughts in his mind. Could he be right?

"I've felt happy, content. Blissful even," Hermione said, no longer shy.

"Me, too..." Harry said, letting his voice trail off.

The dream, he thought, said three keys. The ring had burst into light three times...but the first time didn't seem to count because nothing had happened. They had both been sleeping. But the last two times...?

"Trust and Loyalty," Harry murmured.

"What does it mean?" Hermione asked. Harry looked down at her, meeting her eyes.

"The keys to the ring," he revealed. Hermione frowned up at him, confused. What was he going on about?

"I've been having these dreams...please don't get angry," he said quickly as Hermione's face turned into a scowl.

"I didn't want to worry you. Please understand that. There was this voice in my dream telling me that there were three keys to the ring...but it was so vague, I had no idea what she was talking about."

"She?" Hermione snapped.

Harry smiled and ran a finger through her soft curly hair. "Now who's jealous?" he teased.

The scowl disappeared from her face and she nodded. "Right, trust, and loyalty," she reminded herself and Harry.

"Anyway, I was talking to Ron. Apparently there's this myth that goes with the ring. A woman spirit was trapped within the Friendship ring, and there were only three keys to release the spirit within...but no one really knows much more about it. Apparently it's the spirit that's protecting you," Harry explained, deliberately leaving out what might happen if the spirit was not released.

"Oh..." Hermione said softly. She was now more confused than she was before.

"Hey," he said gently, lifting up her face so he could look straight into her brown eyes "You'll be alright. We'll be alright. Life is just too good for us right now for it to end," he said.

She nodded and closed her eyes as they both enjoyed a soft, gentle and completely passionate kiss. A single tear sliding down Hermione's cheek went unnoticed to them both as they let themselves get lost in the one moment they may have had alone.

To Be Continued...