The Coin

The heavy draperies were drawn against the bright sunlight that was attempting to curl its fingers around the edges of the scarlet hangings. Only a few candles flickered in the darkly appointed room, casting a gloomy glow over the room´s single occupant.

Nappa sat at his desk, drumming his fingers impatiently against the gleaming mahogany surface--the only outward sign of his agitation. Patience wasn´t his strong suit. When he wanted a report brought to him, he didn´t expect to be kept waiting. He´d been impatiently awaiting news of Hermione Granger´s funeral all day. It didn´t matter to him that the funeral had only taken place less than half an hour ago.

When at last he heard the tentative knock on the door, he drew the hood of his robe back up to cover his face and silvery hair. He barked out a clipped, "Come."

The young wizard entered the room cautiously. "Milord, I bring news."

"Yes?" The quirk of a pale eyebrow was lost in the gloom.

"Milord, I wasn´t able to get very close. The presence of a stranger would have been quickly noted; there were only a handful of mourners there and wards and charms had been put in place to discourage unwanted onlookers. So I had to stand at a distance and use a Concealment Charm. But I was able to see most of what was taking place."

"Very industrious of you."

"Thank you, Milord," the young wizard stuttered.

"Continue."

"Potter stood a bit apart from the others. Everyone was crying, but not Potter. In fact, his face was surprisingly devoid of emotion. I couldn´t tell if he shed any tears. After it was over, he walked over to her coffin, said something that looked like `I´m sorry´ then left," he said, finishing his narrative.

"Very interesting. You may go now." He dismissed the other wizard with a casual flick of the wrist.

Once his underling was out of the room, Nappa threw back his hood, rose and walked over to the cold fireplace, staring vacantly into the empty hearth.

"How like you, Potter, to be stoic in the face of great personal loss. I wonder how long that will last as you continue to lose the people you hold most dear?" The fire hissed and popped in the grate. "I was wrong before, thinking to kill you quickly. Too bad Granger had to die. She should have been the coup de grace. But I know just what to do this time. I want to see you suffer...greatly. And then I´ll prove to you, one final time, that you won´t always be around to save the world." His words echoed ominously through the cold, silent room.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

After the funeral, everyone gathered back at the Burrow. No one felt much like eating, but Molly set the table and insisted that they at least try. They all sat around the table, which had been magically enlarged to accommodate them. Usually, conversation flew fast and furious when the Weasleys all came together for a meal, but that afternoon the scant conversation was muffled and strained.

The Grangers sat at one end of the table quietly conversing with Molly and Arthur. Harry was sitting towards the middle with Ron and Lissa. Although Lissa tried as Molly had, neither did more than push their food around on their plates. Fred noted Ron´s lack of appetite, commenting that he must really be upset since nothing ever deterred him from food. That comment earned him a sharp kick under the table from Angelina. Everyone kept casting surreptitious glances in Harry´s direction. When Sara Granger began to cry softly, all the Weasleys developed a sudden interest in the food on their plates

Finally, Harry had had enough. Scraping his chair back, he stood abruptly. "I can´t take this."

"Harry," Ron said warningly, pushing back his chair and turning to Harry.

"I can´t, Ron." Harry glared down at his best friend. "This isn´t fair."

Lissa stood before Ron could get out of his chair. Taking both of Harry´s hands in her own, she forced him to look down at her. "Harry, I know this is the hardest thing you´ll ever have to go through. But you´re not alone. Ron and I will be right here beside you. We´ll all get through this together."

Ron had stood and placed a supportive hand on Lissa´s back as she was speaking. "Why don´t we take a walk, mate?" he directed at Harry.

Harry nodded and then muttered a soft apology to the table at large. He couldn´t bring himself to look at any of the Weasleys; the sympathy he knew would be reflected in their eyes was more than he could bear. Nor did he look at the Grangers. Harry knew that one look at the grief clearly written on Hermione´s parents´ faces would be his undoing. So instead, he turned silently and followed Ron and Lissa from the room.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

Pouring steaming water into a cup, Sabrina added her teabag by rote, not really seeing what she was doing. She had graciously declined the Weasleys´ invitation to go back to the Burrow for dinner. She didn´t think she could be that close to Harry and not blurt out what she knew. Hermione was dead. Nothing was going to change that fact now. Telling Harry what she had found would only be cruel, and it would serve no purpose at this point in time.

Taking a sip of her hot tea, Sabrina picked up the book that she now looked upon with loathing. It had revealed its secrets too late. She carried it and her teacup over to the couch, sitting down with her legs curled under her. Carefully, she opened the old book, flipping to the passage she now knew by heart. She didn´t have to read the story; the words came alive as she closed her eyes. She was transported back in time over a hundred years to a small village on the moors of Scotland.

The heather bloomed in wild profusion on the moor. Ian MacDougal surveyed the idyllic setting, but his mind was back at the village with his beautiful daughter who was celebrating her 21st birthday with a party in her honor. He had come out to the moor to think about the present he would give his precious Ariana. The coin lay cold and solid in his tightly closed palm. A few carefully chosen words and a wave of his wand and the spell was cast.

Ian wanted so much for his only child. In fact, he had given her everything her heart had desired all her life. But it hadn´t spoiled her. On the contrary, she had a warm and generous heart and was well loved by everyone in his village. But she wanted more. She wanted the love of her best friend, Aidan. Not the kind of love that one felt for a friend; they´d had that for each other since they were very young. But the kind of love that one felt for the person who was their soul mate, the other half that made them whole. The kind of love he felt for Ariana´s mother, his own Sherilyn.

Ian had watched Ariana and Aidan fall in love over the past year. In the last few months, Ariana had begun to realize what had been right in front of her all along. Aidan hadn´t figured it out yet. Or if he had, which Ian suspected to be true, he hadn´t or wouldn´t admit it. Ian opened his palm and looked at the gold coin glistening there in the sunlight. A little push in the right direction never hurt. His conscience twinged just a bit at the duplicity he would be fostering, but if it served a purpose and brought his daughter happiness, then it was worth it. He dropped the coin in a scarlet velvet pouch and strode purposefully back to join his daughter´s birthday celebration.

When Ian arrived back at the village, the party was in full swing. Brightly colored paper littered the ground and Ariana´s bright, tinkling laughter floated on the warm breeze. Presents of all shapes and sizes were scattered around her. Her favorite, a gold heart shaped necklace-a gift from Aidan-was nestled close to her own heart. Her beautiful face was alight with happiness. When Ian followed the direction of Ariana´s gaze, he saw Aidan laughing back at her. Something Ariana said must have amused him very much. They were always laughing and joking good-naturedly with one another.

Ian took a moment to peruse his daughter´s best friend. Aidan Buchanan was tall and dark-haired, his light blue eyes continually crinkled into a smile. More than the handsome appearance, Ian knew his daughter saw the good heart that beat under the rugged exterior. Aidan was just the kind of wizard he´d always hoped his precious Ariana would fall in love with. It was an added bonus that they were best friends.

But there was the rub. Although Ariana had awoken to her feelings for her best friend, Aidan, on the other hand, had told Ariana that he was afraid of ruining the best friendship he´d ever had by taking that friendship to the next level. Ian could totally understand that. He, himself, was so stubborn about not wanting to ruin his friendship with Sherilyn, that she had had to resort to threats of Imperius in order to even get him to listen to her rationale. Ian smiled warmly at the memory. If all went well, Ariana and Aidan would be spared the difficulties of figuring everything out on their own.

Ian MacDougal walked to his daughter´s side. Her dark brown eyes looked up at him; her heart shaped faced face, framed by a cascade of thick black hair, was shining with happiness.

"There´s one more present that you haven´t opened, Ariana." Her father took the velvet sack out of his pocket and placed it gently into his child´s outstretched hand. She opened the drawstring and dumped the coin out into her open hand. "It´s a coin." She stated the obvious.

"But not just any coin," her father corrected. "This one has a prophecy attached to it."

Ariana´s eyes lit with interest.

Ian closed his hand around his daughter´s, trapping the coin in her palm. He gazed deeply into the eyes so like his own and said, "If this coin is held by two who love, its warmth will all surround, but if lost before that love is known, only sorrow will abound."

Ariana smiled up quizzically at her father. But no further explanations were forthcoming. He simply bent down, kissed her cheek lightly and whispered, "Guard it faithfully."

Sabrina slammed the book closed, sloshing her tea into her lap. She couldn´t bear to read the rest. Why hadn´t she investigated and found the story before Hermione had apparently lost the coin? Why couldn´t she have found it before Hermione had been injured? Before Hermione had... Sabrina choked on a sob. It shouldn´t have happened. It shouldn´t have ended like that. It was so simple. But it was too late. Sabrina gave into the sadness and no longer tried to choke back the sobs, letting the agonizing sounds fill her empty flat.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

Ron and Lissa sat on a stone bench situated in the middle of the Burrow´s garden. Ron had his arms wrapped tightly around Lissa, while she had her head pillowed on his chest. The sun shone down to gently caress their faces.

"Do you really think we should have let Harry go off on his own?" Lissa asked quietly.

She felt Ron nod against the crown of her head. "I think he needed the time to himself. I knew this would be hard on him, but I think it´s even harder than even he imagined," Ron admitted. Lissa nodded her head against his chest in agreement, snuggling closer.

They sat in silence for several long minutes, enjoying the peaceful solitude of the garden. There hadn´t been time for peace or solitude in the last few days, and it felt good just to have a few quiet moments alone.

Finally, Ron broke the silence. "Have I told you today how much I love you?"

"Mmm hmm," Lissa murmured. "When you woke me up in a most pleasant way this morning."

Ron smiled in response at the memory.

When he had awoken that morning and looked at the clock, he had known they didn´t have much time before they were due to meet Harry and the rest of his family at the Burrow. But Lissa had lain there, looking so soft from sleep with the morning sunlight playing across her beautiful face, that he couldn´t stop himself from kissing her awake. Soft kisses had quickly led to more as they had affirmed their love for one another in the most basic way possible. Since what had happened to Hermione, they had promised one another that they would never take the love they shared or each other for granted.

"I´m sorry that you´re having to go through this, love, especially so soon after losing your mother."

Lissa´s eyes brimmed with tears. "I couldn´t help but think about Mom as we stood at Hermione´s graveside." She snuggled into the warmth of Ron´s comforting embrace while he rocked her gently back and forth.

"I don´t know if I can do this, Ron. Seeing the Grangers like that and your family...I´m just not sure I can do it."

Ron drew away from her and took her face in his hands. "Yes, you can Melissa. You are one of the strongest people I have ever met. If you didn´t run away screaming when I told you I was a wizard, then you surely have enough..." Ron paused searching for the right word. "What did you say your Mum always told you that you had in abundance?"

"Grit," Lissa replied. "I can´t believe you remembered I told you that."

"I remember everything you´ve ever told me and always will," Ron replied earnestly.

"Oh, Ronald Weasley, you have just gotten yourself into so much trouble," she grinned in spite of her sorrow.

Ron´s eyebrows rose in an unspoken question. He was used to getting himself into trouble. This time, however, he honestly had no idea what kind of trouble Lissa could be referring to, nor did the smile on her face match the expression usually held by the person telling him he was in trouble.

"I will remind you of that the first time you forget to pick up something at the store I asked you to get or you don´t do one of the chores around the house I requested you do."

Ron sighed in mock exasperation. "I walked right into that one, didn´t I?"

"Yes, you did."

Ron laughed, a rich, deep from the belly type laugh. Lissa quickly followed suit. There hadn´t been much to laugh about lately, and even if it was a brief respite, the break in the tension was a most welcome relief.

Wiping his eyes with the back of his hand, Ron stood and pulled Lissa up with him. "Let´s go find Harry. We need to be getting home soon and he`s got to go get Crookshanks."

Lissa smiled her agreement. Threading her fingers through Ron´s hand, they went off in search of Harry.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

The chime of the doorbell startled Sabrina out of her melancholy reverie and Crookshanks off his warm perch on her lap. "Wonder who that could be?" she asked the disgruntled kitty. She quickly wiped at the smudges she knew must be under her eyes and padded barefoot across the cold floor to open the door to find Harry standing on the other side.

"Hi, Harry," she said, stepping back to allow him into the flat.

"Hello, Sabrina," he answered back, reaching down to pick up Crookshanks who was throwing himself at Harry´s feet in an effort to rub against him. Once in Harry´s arms, the cat began purring louder than a motorboat puttering down the Thames. Harry smiled fondly at the feline.

"Thanks for taking such good care of him. I´m sure Hermione will...I mean, would have appreciated it." Harry hastily corrected himself.

Sabrina´s eyes filled with sympathy. "I know, Harry. It´s so hard to believe Hermione´s actually gone. If I´d only..." Sabrina looked regretful, but didn´t say more.

"If you´d only what?" Harry asked curiously.

Sabrina shook her head. "It´s not important now, Harry. Really. Are you going to be keeping him now?" She nodded to the cat in his arms.

"Actually, I´m taking him to Ron and Lissa´s."

"Really?" Sabrina sounded surprised. "I thought Hermione told me one time that Ron didn´t like Crookshanks."

"That was only because of the Scabbers incident," he answered.

Sabrina quirked an eyebrow quizzically.

"Back when we were in school, Ron thought Crookshanks had eaten his pet rat, Scabbers. But he hadn´t. They get on fine now, and Lissa loves cats. I guess I better be off. Thanks again for all your help. You mean a lot to Hermione. You´re such a good friend to her."

As Sabrina closed the door behind Harry, she caught back a loud sniff. It broke her heart to hear Harry talk about Hermione in the present tense. Harry hadn´t caught his mistake the second time, and she certainly wasn´t going to remind him. She was sure it would take them all a very long time to come to terms with Hermione being gone. Harry, she was sure, the longest of all.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

Warm, comforting smells of vegetable soup simmering on the stove floated through the air. Cooking always made Lissa feel better. Useful, at least. None of them had been able to eat more than a few bites of lunch at the Weasley´s and were now famished. She had started the soup as soon as she returned home so it would be ready to eat when Harry got there with Crookshanks. Lissa walked back into the lounge room just as the doorbell rang.

"I´ll get it," she told Ron, who was seated on the loveseat watching the television.

She admitted Harry, who was carrying an agitated Crookshanks. "It´s funny," Harry began, "it´s almost like he´s been impatient to get here since I told him..." but Harry wasn´t able to finish his sentence as he walked into the lounge room. Crookshanks had spied the person of his feline affections. He leapt from Harry´s arms, scratching them in the process, and bounded over to the couch, leaping gracefully into the waiting arms of his mistress.

"Crookshanks," Hermione said weakly, but happily, nuzzling her face into the warm, soft ginger fur. Crookshank´s purr was one of pure contentment.

"You think I could get one of those hugs?" Harry asked with a smile.

"I think that could be arranged," Hermione smiled wearily back.

Harry walked over to the couch and sat down carefully beside Hermione, gently taking her into his arms. It had been three very long days since he had seen or touched her; now that he had her back in his arms, he didn´t think he would ever let her go again.

As she cuddled him back weakly, Harry felt the slightness of her frame. He had never thought of Hermione as weak and fragile; he´d always thought her more than capable of taking care of herself. But this incident with Nappa had proven how vulnerable she really was and he was going to do everything in his power to protect her from now on. He had the feeling Hermione would have something to say about that, however. He didn´t care, though. She was safe. She was alive and she was in his arms. For now, that was enough.

"Hi, Harry," she whispered, after several moments of silence, simply enjoying being back in Harry´s arms.

"Hi," he breathed back into her hair.

Reluctantly, Harry drew back. But he couldn´t bring himself to release her totally, so he twined his fingers through hers and rested their joined hands on her lap, where a disgruntled Crookshanks sat, blinking glaringly at them at the loss of Hermione´s affections.

"Did Ron fill you in on everything?" Harry cast a questioning glance in Ron´s direction, who was still sitting on the loveseat; Lissa now seated beside him.

"Just the broad strokes. This is the first time she´s been awake for more than a few minutes at a stretch since we brought her here from hospital. When we came back from the...funeral," Ron cast Hermione a hasty look, "she said she felt like coming in here for a bit."

"Okay, want me to fill in the blanks?" Harry asked.

"Please."

"All right. I guess I should ask you how much you remember," Harry started.

"From when I was first kidnapped?" Hermione worried her bottom lip.

"Yeah," he said tersely.

"I was walking to work," she began. "Two wizards forced me into a deserted alleyway, then we Disapparated to a dark room. They left me there by myself for a while before anyone came back. I tried to get out, but of course the door was locked and they´d taken my wand. Then he came in."

"Nappa," Harry bit out.

"I can only assume so. He told me it wasn´t important who he was and that I was simply a means to an end. The end being your death." Hermione paused to squeeze Harry´s hand.

Harry took an audible breath. "Did he hurt you, Hermione?"

"No," she shook her head. "He didn´t." The relief in the room was palpable.

"Can you tell me what he looks like?"

"When he came into the room, he was cloaked and hooded. But then he threw his hood back. I don´t think he thought I´d survive to tell anyone what he looked like."

"You almost didn´t," Harry admitted with a pained expression. "I want to get an agent over here with a Magicsketch quill and have you describe him. And I´ll want you to try to think of all the details you possibly can remember, but for now just tell me the rest."

"The last thing I remember is being taken to the meeting place. That wizard pointing his wand at me and not being able to get out of the way of that spell. Then it´s all a blank until I woke up here a few days ago."

Harry squeezed Hermione´s hand and moved a little closer to her. "Let me tell you the rest, then."

"Elizabeth and I Apparated with you to the Critical Care Unit of the hospital. Dr. Hastings, he was your doctor, tried every counter spell he could think of, but nothing was working. You were slipping away. I thought I was going to lose you," Harry paused, pushing his glasses back up his nose and clearing his throat.

"But something Dr. Hastings said sparked Elizabeth´s memory. He said the spell that was used on you was similar to the Avada Kedavra. She went back through all her old field notes until she found the counter spell that was confiscated in a raid on one of Nappa´s associates. Dr. Hastings administered it and it worked." The relief in Harry´s face at this last remark was evident.

"In the meantime," Ron picked up the story, "Harry and I had devised a plan for when," he stopped to offer a relieved smile at Hermione, "you got better. Harry wanted to make sure you were safe. We thought the best way to do that would be to make Nappa think you were dead. We agreed the best place to hide you was here, and Lissa was all for the idea."

Silent tears began to track down Hermione´s pale face. "I understand all that. But did you have to let my parents really believe that I´m dead, Harry? Couldn´t you have told them the truth? And the Weasleys, surely they can be trusted to keep the secret."

Harry gently wiped the tears away with the pad of his thumb. "I´m sorry, sweetheart. It isn´t that I didn´t trust any of them to keep the secret, but we agreed," he looked in Ron´s direction, "that the more people who know the truth, the more risk there is to your well being. Elizabeth had to know, of course, since she was the one who found the counter curse. And Eric," Harry paused to grit his teeth. "Elizabeth convinced me he was the best person to stay here and guard you since you knew him. And we wanted to make the funeral look as real as possible. The way to do that was to make everyone´s grief real. I am so sorry for the pain that it´s caused your family and friends." Harry closed his eyes briefly at the thought.

"How long do we let them go on thinking that?"

"Until you´re safe, Hermione. Until we catch Nappa and put him in Azkaban where he can´t do any more harm."

"But what if that takes a while? What if you can´t catch him quickly? I have a life, Harry. A job. One that I worked very hard to obtain and one which they won´t hold open for a dead woman."

"I´m sorry, Hermione. You have to stay in hiding until we apprehend Nappa. That´s the way it has to be and that´s my final word on the subject."

"Excuse me?" Hermione marshaled the little strength she had to sit up ramrod straight, pulling her hand from Harry´s and crossing her arms across her chest.

"Ron, I think it´s time we went and checked on the soup," Lissa nudged him gently.

"And miss this? Are you crazy?" Ron gave her a wide-eyed smile.

"Ron!" Lissa scolded reprovingly.

"I can see you´re not ever going to let me have any fun." But the twinkle in his blue eyes belied his words.

After the couple had left the room, Hermione quirked an eyebrow at Harry.

"Hermione," Harry said in a placating tone.

"Don´t `Hermione´ me, Harry Potter. I will not sit idly by while you tell me what I can and cannot do." Hermione´s voice, though weak, brooked no argument.

"You´re right, Hermione. I can´t tell you what to do. But I can ask you to please trust me that I´m doing what´s best for you. I know it can´t go on indefinitely, but at least give us a little time to try to bring him in."

Hermione nodded mutely. But if the look in her eyes was any indication, her acquiescence wasn´t a given. She was simply too tired to fight about it at the moment.

Harry ran his hand through his already messy hair. The look he gave her was intense and deep. Gently, he cupped her face with both his hands. "You don´t know how I felt when I was standing by your graveside today, Hermione. The only way I got through it was because I knew you weren´t in that coffin. If you had been...if I´d lost you..." Tears glistened behind the round frame of Harry´s glasses. Hermione reached up and lovingly wiped away a solitary tear.

"But I wasn´t and I didn´t. I´m right here, Harry. You´re not going to lose me. I promise."

Harry´s hands left Hermione´s face to fist into her hair, pulling her face close to his own. "You can´t make that promise, Hermione. Didn´t what happen prove that to you? You could be taken away so easily. I could lose you."

Her eyes lit up her face as she gazed at the man she loved with all her heart. "Harry, listen to me. You will never lose me. Even if, God forbid, we should be parted physically here on this Earth. You´ll always have me. Here." She placed her hand on his chest over his heart. She took his hand and placed it over her own heart. "And you´ll always be here--in mine."

Harry cupped Hermione´s face with his hands and gently kissed her lips. She kissed him back softly. Emotionally spent and the last of her physical strength exhausted, Hermione laid her head on Harry´s chest.

"Let me get you back to bed." Harry stood and picked Hermione up into his arms, carrying her to the spare bedroom and snuggling her into bed, tucking the covers securely around her.

"Stay with me `til I fall asleep?" she asked, only a breath away from dreamland as she spoke.

.

Harry gently eased to sit on the bed beside her, twining his fingers through Hermione`s. Mere seconds passed before she had succumbed to a healing slumber. But Harry sat there a long while afterwards, holding her hand and thanking whatever God or fate that had brought her into his life and praying that she would never be taken away from him again.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

The noise of clanking dishes drifted to Ron as he sat on the couch, half-heartedly paying attention to the old movie on the screen. Harry and Hermione had already disappeared from the lounge room when he and Lissa had come back in to announce that supper was ready. Since they had assumed that Harry had probably taken Hermione back to bed, they had eaten supper without them.

Ron´s eyes drifted to the spare bedroom as he thought about his two best friends. He couldn´t help but wonder about the outcome of their conversation. He´d joked with Lissa that he didn´t want to miss the big fight, but in actuality he was afraid that he was going to have to play mediator a lot in the coming days as Hermione grew stronger and more forcefully started voicing her opinion on her unwelcome captivity. Ron knew he´d have to walk a line more tenuous than any high wire acrobat ever had. While he agreed with Harry that it was in Hermione´s best interest to keep her hidden until Nappa could be caught, he knew that it wasn´t fair to Hermione to ask her to put her life on hold indefinitely. Nor would it be fair to Hermione´s parents to continue to let them think their daughter was dead. And he really didn´t want to have to take sides between his two best friends.

He was so deep in thought, he didn´t notice Lissa come into the room until she sat herself down in his lap. "Penny for your thoughts," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck and cuddling in close to him.

"Harry and Hermione," he said simply.

"Big surprise there," she said.

"Just thinking about how hard it´s going to be to convince Hermione that it´s in her best interest to stay hidden."

"It´s not going to be easy, that´s for sure. I know I wouldn´t want to be hidden away from my family, letting them think I was dead, if I were her," Lissa sympathized.

Ron sat Lissa up in his arms so he could look into her face. "I thought you agreed that it was the best thing to do?" he questioned.

"It is. I just don´t think she´ll take it very well once she starts feeling better."

Ron grinned widely.

"Okay, what´s the grin for?" Lissa asked.

"I was just sitting here thinking the very same thing. See...we are perfect for each other."

Ron pulled Lissa back into his arms.

"You´re just figuring that out--a bit slow, aren´t you?" Ron could hear the answering grin

in Lissa´s voice.

"Come to bed and I´ll show you just how perfectly we fit together," Ron suggested.

"You won´t forget the Silencing Charm, will you?" Lissa cast a nervous glance at the extra bedroom, a slight blush tinting her cheeks.

A smile split Ron´s face, making his eyes twinkle. "I´m very good at Silencing Charms."

"You better be," Lissa said, giving Ron a slow, very thorough kiss.

As she led him to their bedroom, Ron couldn´t help but think that it would be Lissa showing him how perfectly they fit.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

Darkness had long since fallen over the silent bedroom. Still, Harry sat watching Hermione sleep. He knew he should be seen going home. They didn´t know how closely his comings and goings were being monitored. He only hoped it wouldn´t look too abnormal for him to stay over at Ron and Lissa´s the night of Hermione´s funeral.

As hard as it had been for him, and it had been one of the hardest things he had ever done, he´d made himself stay away from Lissa´s house before the funeral. He knew it might raise suspicion if he were to camp out at Lissa´s, so they´d all congregated at the Burrow instead.

Harry had no reason to believe that Nappa wasn´t thoroughly convinced that Hermione was dead, but he wasn´t taking any chances. After he was seen leaving Lissa´s in the morning, he would Apparate in and out of the house, for the most part, in the future. There was no sense raising any suspicions about his continual presence here. And he did intend to be here as much as he possibly could. Ron´s smirked assurance to him that Eric would protect Hermione when one of them couldn´t be there didn´t assuage his mind. In fact, the thought of Hermione spending so much time with Eric twisted a sour knot of jealousy deep in the pit of his stomach. He had a feeling that was why Ron had so gleefully informed him that Eric had graciously offered to help keep Hermione safe "night or day-it didn`t matter which." The "night or day" comment had earned Ron a jab in the ribs by Lissa´s elbow, much to Harry´s satisfaction.

A suddenly restless Hermione jolted Harry from his thoughts. She had been sleeping quietly, so much so that a few times, being overly cautious, Harry had checked to see if she was still breathing. Now her breathing was becoming erratic. She was beginning to thrash her head from side to side and was mumbling something that sounded like "No," over and over again. Not knowing if waking her would be the best plan, Harry gently placed his hand on her shoulder. This only agitated her further. She began fighting him in earnest, screaming the word `no´ as loudly as she could.

Harry did the only thing he could think to do, he held her shoulders firmly and shook her, repeating her name until she woke from her nightmare with a start. Her eyes were wild and unfocused. Her breathing rapid in her fear. Harry tried his best to soothe her, whispering comforting words.

Once she was fully awake and realized who held her, she threw her arms around Harry, clinging to him desperately. Her breath came out as gulping sobs. "Ho..hold me Harry. Do..don´t let me go. Please."

The desperation and fear in her voice tore at Harry´s heart. He held her tightly, rocking her to and fro. "It´s okay, Mione. I´ve got you. I won´t let anything bad happen to you. I swear." He rained kisses in her hair and on her face while running his hands up and down her back in a soothing gesture. Eventually, she quieted. Her breath now coming in small hitching sobs. When he tried to find a more comfortable position to hold her, she must have thought he was pulling away because she raised beseeching eyes to his.

"It´s okay, sweetheart. I´m not going anywhere."

Harry kicked off his shoes and climbed in under the covers, still fully dressed. He pulled Hermione to him, her back to his front. She spooned into him as he wrapped his arms around her waist, hugging them tightly to her with her own. Held securely in his arms, Hermione quickly drifted back to sleep. It took Harry a bit longer, his troubling thoughts chasing sleep from him. But eventually, lulled by Hermione´s even breathing and exhausted from the emotional toll of the day, Harry, also, succumbed to sleep´s welcoming embrace.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

Ron tiptoed back into his and Lissa´s room, careful not to wake his sleeping fiancée. He´d gone to check on Hermione when he heard her nightmare cries, but as he had suspected, Harry was already there offering comfort. Knowing that Harry was the one she really needed to comfort her, Ron had left quietly without being seen. For the past two nights, Ron had tried to comfort Hermione as best he could when she had woken, sobbing in terror. She hadn´t remembered her dreams the following mornings.

Slipping carefully back into bed, Ron lay very still so as not to disturb Lissa. She rolled over and cuddled into his arms.

"Hermione having nightmares again?" she asked.

"Yeah, but Harry was there."

"She´s needed him desperately the past couple of days. I´m glad he could finally be here for her."

"Me too." Ron nodded. "And I need you desperately." Ron´s hand snaked up under the hem of Lissa´s gown.

"Again?" Lissa smiled, then gasped as Ron´s cold hand found her warm flesh.

"Always," Ron promised as he claimed her mouth in a fierce, possessive kiss.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

Moonlight streamed in through the window, making Ginny´s hair dance with fire. Draco Malfoy studied her face carefully. Shadows smudged the pale skin below her eyes. If he looked closely enough, he could still see the dried tear tracks trailing down her face. Hermione´s funeral had been hard on Ginny, but she had tried to be strong for Ron and Lissa. But Hermione had been one of Ginny´s best friends and losing her had been devastating for her too. So as soon as they had gotten home, all pretense of holding it together had vanished. Ginny had thrown herself into his arms and wept her heart out.

Draco hadn´t had much experience comforting a crying witch. He never had much need to know how to offer comfort at all. But a chance meeting with Ginny had changed all that for him. He had already turned away from his father and the dark forces of wizardry, but he had still had maintained that cynical air that he had carried all through his years at Hogwarts. And he had never been one to go out of his way to help a fellow witch or wizard in trouble. No one would ever accuse him of being a knight in shining armor. But one afternoon, walking down a crowded street in Diagon Alley had changed that.

He still didn´t know what had attracted his attention to the deserted corridor leading to Knockturn Alley. A movement maybe--a noise. And to this day, he didn´t know why he had gone to investigate. But he had. And the memory still made his blood run cold.

Draco could still see the scene like it was happening in real time.

Two wizards had a small redheaded witch pinned up against the wall. He hadn´t been able to see her face, but he had been able to see her struggling and hear her cursing them for all she was worth. Draco had known that she hadn´t stood a chance against her much larger adversaries, but if she was going down, she wasn´t going down without a fight.

Draco strode into the alley and drawled lazily, "Is this a private party or can anyone join?"

The two burly wizards spun around at the sound of his voice. The larger one still shielded the witch from Draco´s view as he responded, " You can have her once we´ve had our fun."

"Funny," Draco drawled, surreptitiously reaching for his wand, "I didn´t think the lady sounded like she was having any fun." Draco drew his wand and pointed it at the two wizards. "Maybe the two of you should just move on."

The smaller of the two wizards, still considerably larger than Draco, attempted to draw his own wand, only to find it flying out of his hand into Draco´s.

"The next spell won´t be to disarm," Draco warned.

The two exchanged nervous glances. Then the larger one held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. "She´s not worth all that. Let´s go." They had skulked away down the alley, revealing the witch that he had just saved.

If Draco had thought that Ginny Weasley was going to be grateful that he had saved her, then he should have known better.

"Malfoy, why´d you interfere?" Her brown eyes spit fire. "I had the situation under control. I could have handled it myself."

One pale eyebrow quirked. "Shall I call them back and let you handle it then?"

"No," Ginny answered quickly.

Draco´s mouth turned up into the familiar smirk. "What were you doing down here anyway, Weasley?"

"I wasn´t. They dragged me down here." Ginny muttered the last part softly.

"But I thought you had the situation well in hand," Draco smirked.

"Oh all right. Thank you for helping me out, Malfoy," Ginny spat out begrudgingly.

Draco smiled. "You know Weasley, there is an old Chinese proverb that says if you save a life you are responsible for that life forever."

"And your point would be?"

Draco moved to within centimeters of Ginny. Grey eyes met brown. The electric current that shot between them could have lit up a whole Muggle London block.

"Will you have dinner with me tonight, Ginny?" From the startled look in her eyes, Ginny didn´t know where that question had come from any more than Draco had.

Nor did she understand why she had answered `yes.´

Gently, Draco brushed Ginny´s hair back from her face as she shifted in the bed, instinctively looking for the warmth and comfort of his arms. Draco gathered Ginny to him.

If Potter had loved Granger one tenth as much as he loved Ginny, Draco thought, he could sympathize with the pain Harry must be feeling. That must have been the reason for his disquietude. The reason he couldn´t fall asleep. Not much kept Draco from getting a night´s sleep, but something was bothering him. Something he couldn´t quite put his finger on. He needed to sleep more than he needed to solve the puzzle, though so he pulled Ginny closer to him and tried to push all unpleasant thoughts from his mind and allow sleep to claim him.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

Harry woke to find Hermione sprawled on top of him, her bushy hair fanning out across his chest. She looked so innocent and vulnerable lying against him that a fierce protectiveness welled up from deep within his soul.

He´d almost lost her. That thought had played through his mind like Dudley´s CD player stuck on repeat for the last several days. He unconsciously tightened his hold on her, causing her to stir.

"Good morning," she smiled sleepily up at him.

"Morning," Harry smiled back, happy to notice a bit more color in her cheeks. "You comfortable?" he asked, not quite comfortable himself since Hermione had shifted her body searching for a more comfortable position. He shifted his a bit so she wouldn´t notice.

"Mmm hmm," she murmured. "Harry, I noticed you didn´t bother to get undressed last night before you crawled into bed with me. Did you leave your wand in your pocket or are you just happy to be holding me in your arms again?" Hermione smiled mischievously up at him. She shifted her position slightly, wrenching a groan from Harry.

"Hermione!"

"Yes?" She looked up at him innocently.

"Don´t start something you can´t finish," he gritted out.

"I want to finish what we started, Harry. I want to make love with you. I realize how close I came to dying. If I had, that would have been my only regret."

Harry shifted Hermione to lay at his side. "I want that too, Hermione. More than you know. But you´re still too weak. When we make love, and I promise you it will be soon, I want to make you to feel weak for an entirely different reason."

Hermione reached up and gently kissed Harry with a tender promise. "I´ll get better soon."

Harry kissed her back, making a few promises of his own.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

Wonderful, mouthwatering smells wafted through the air as Harry carried Hermione into the lounge room, placed her on her couch and sat beside her.

Ron offered a cheery, "Good morning. How´d you sleep?"

Grinning mischievously, Harry offered back, "Would have slept a lot better except for the loud noises coming from your bedroom."

Both Ron and Harry´s heads whipped around to the doorway leading to the kitchen when they heard a glass shatter. Lissa stood there, her face suffused with color roughly matching Ron´s hair. "I thought you said you put on the Silencing Charm, Ron?" Lissa accused in a teary voice.

"I did." Ron tried to defend himself, casting a dirty look Harry´s way.

"I´m sorry, Lissa. I was just kidding. I didn´t know you were standing there or I never would have said that," Harry tried to placate sheepishly.

"I´ll just go finish breakfast," Lissa squeaked out as she turned and fled back into the kitchen.

"You two should be ashamed of yourselves," Hermione admonished. But she didn´t think they heard her over their laughter. "Ron, you should go check on her."

"I will. When I can stop laughing." Ron said, wiping his eyes.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

A few minutes later, after he had composed himself and wiped most of the merriment from his face, Ron walked into the kitchen. It was a wonder, he thought, that their breakfast wasn´t on the ceiling and floor; Lissa was slinging things all over the place. He walked up behind her and gently placed his hands on her shoulders and drew her body back against his own. She calmed immediately.

"I´ll never be able to face Harry again." Ron didn´t miss the embarrassment in her voice.

Turning Lissa towards him, she wouldn´t meet his eyes. He tilted her face up to his, noting the bright patches of red still coloring her cheeks and the tears shimmering in her eyes.

"If I only hadn´t made a big deal out of it," she said, burying her head into Ron´s chest.

All traces of his earlier laughter were gone. "Sweetheart, what can I say to make you feel better?"

"Just hold me for a few minutes, then help me get breakfast on the table."

"That I can do."

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

As Lissa was cleaning up the breakfast dishes, Harry approached her cautiously. They had studiously avoided catching the other´s eye as they had eaten. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" Harry asked.

"Sure."

Shifting nervously, Harry said, "I really am sorry, Lissa. I never would have said that if I´d known you were standing there. Can you ever forgive me?"

"Of course, Harry. Ron says I get embarrassed way too easily anyway," Lissa admitted. "I´ll try to work on that."

"He told me it´s one of the things he loves most about you. And if I haven´t told you, I´m so glad Ron found you. He´s a lucky man."

"Thanks, Harry." Lissa reached up to give Harry a kiss on the check. Harry gave her a hug in return.

"Hey now," Ron called from across the room where he sat with Hermione, "you´re kissing the wrong wizard, Lissa. And Harry, you come over here and hug your girl and leave mine alone."

Lissa and Harry crossed the room, sitting beside their own partners. Lissa bussing Ron´s check with a light kiss and Harry pulling Hermione into a one armed hug.

"That is not where I wanted you to kiss me," Ron pouted.

A mischievous gleam lit Lissa´s hazel eyes. "Just wait til tonight, honey. I´ll kiss you wherever you want, then Harry will really have a reason to complain about loud noises keeping him awake." She may have blushed red while she said it, internally cringing at her uncharacteristic statement, but she had said it.

After a moment of shocked silence from Ron, Harry and Hermione, all four of them

dissolved into howls of shared laughter.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

"You summoned me, Milord?"

"I think it´s time to put our plan against Mr. Potter into action. Although I´m sure he´s suffering greatly now over Miss Granger´s death, I think it´s time to show him what true suffering is. You know what to do."

"Yes, Milord."

As the younger wizard shut the door behind him, Nappa smiled evilly.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

During the week following Hermione´s release from hospital, Harry, Hermione, Ron and Lissa established a routine. Harry would Apparate home in the mornings so that he could be seen leaving his flat. Then he´d Apparate back to Lissa´s after he was seen going home for the evening. Ron would come home at lunch to relieve Eric for a bit. Lissa would spend most of her days keeping Hermione company, though she had to spend a few afternoons with Ginny since she was still quite upset about Hermione´s death.

Hermione was regaining a bit more of her strength every day. By week´s end, she could sit up for a few hours at a time without feeling totally exhausted. She continued to have nightmares, but still did not recall them when she woke.

Ron found her sitting in the lounge room, her nose stuck in a book when he came home late from work a week after her funeral.

"Where´s Lissa?" Ron dropped a kiss on Hermione´s forehead.

"Gone to the market." Hermione hardly looked up from her book.

"How long has she been gone?" Ron questioned.

Hermione finally looked up from her book and glanced at her watch. "Oh, my. I didn´t realize it had gotten so late. She´s been gone a good while."

Eric walked back in from the kitchen. "She´s been gone several hours actually. I thought maybe she´d stopped at your sister´s for a visit. I was beginning to get concerned, though."

"No. Gin and Draco left town for a long weekend. She owled me this morning." Ron didn´t try to hide the look of worry on his face.

"Should I stay?" Eric asked.

"No, you´ve been here all day. You can go home," Ron replied

Just as Eric Disapparated, Harry Apparated into the house. The look on his face confirmed Ron´s worst fears. Reluctantly, Harry held out a piece of parchment to Ron.

The note was short and to the point.

Potter,

I have Weasley´s fiancée. I´ve decided not to let you know whether or not I`ve killed her. I thought it much better to allow you to wonder if maybe she´s still alive and suffering horribly.

"Maybe he doesn´t really have her. Maybe she just got sidetracked." Ron said hopefully, knowing even before Harry held out his hand, palm open, that Nappa really did have Lissa. The small diamond that winked up at him from Harry´s palm brought all his hopes spiraling to the ground.

Ron carefully took the ring from Harry. He closed his own hand around it and held it to his heart. Lissa had vowed never to take that ring off, and she wouldn´t have given it up without a fight. Ron shuddered at the thought.

As the reality of the situation hit him full force, his blood ran ice cold in his veins...then heated up to molten lava. Fear like he had never known gripped his insides and twisted them into a painful knot. His Lissa was in danger. Rage suffused his blood, coloring his face roughly the shade of his hair.

"I´m so sorry, Ron." Harry tried to place his hand on his best friend´s shoulder in a gesture of comfort, but Ron knocked it cruelly away.

Fury blazed from Ron´s blue eyes. "If anything happens to Lissa, I will never forgive you, Harry. Never."

"Ron," Hermione pleaded.

But the despair in Ron´s heart was too great, the fear for Lissa´s safety too strong to listen to reason. "Will you be all right here or do you want me to take you to the Burrow?" He directed the question at Hermione.

"I´ll take care of Hermione," Harry replied tightly.

"Like you did before?" Ron spat. "Like you protected Lissa?"

The barb found its mark, but Harry tried not to let it show.

Hermione stepped over to Ron and hugged him tightly. "She´ll be fine, Ron. I just know she will."

"Are you going or staying?" he asked tersely, releasing her.

"Staying."

Ron Disapparated.

"Harry."

"Don´t, Hermione. Don´t say it isn´t my fault."

Hermione closed the distance between them in three steps. Wrapping her arms around Harry´s middle, she laid her head on his chest. "I was just going to say that I love you," she whispered.

Harry pulled Hermione close...hoping and praying fervently that Ron would be able to hear the woman he loved whisper those sweet words to him again sometime very soon.