Harry Potter The Final Straw

The adults watched them leave the room in silence, respecting Harry's wishes for postponing the discussion. None of them wanted to delve too deeply into that particular topic now anyway.

Finishing off her tea, Dora finally broke the melancholy silence that had descended upon the library when she asked, "Should we go have a little chat with Macnair or do you want to wait until tomorrow?"

"Why don't we let him worry for the evening? We can talk to him tomorrow when we're rested and he's nervous." Sirius said after looking at the tired faces of everyone.

Hermione silenced and locked their door while Harry went into the bathroom to get ready for bed. She could still feel his distress pouring through their bond and it left her at a bit of a loss. This wasn't something that she could just make go away.

Harry's prior connection to Voldemort was an insidious one that allowed Voldemort too much access to Harry's mind. This new connection would have to be explored carefully. Hermione's best guess was that Harry now had the greater degree of control. The one million-galleon question now was, 'Would Harry be able to keep Voldemort from recognizing the connection and from getting glimpses of Harry's emotions and thoughts?'

Silently, Harry padded out of the bathroom, ran a hand tenderly across Hermione's shoulders, and climbed into bed. His thoughts were a jumble and his emotions a mess as he tried to wrap his mind around this new development. He placed his wand on the nightstand next to the bed and slipped under the covers before removing his t-shirt and tossing it on the floor.

Hermione walked out of their bathroom just as Harry dropped his shirt on the floor next to the bed. She was wearing a light pink baby doll and the matching pair of knickers that Winky must have left in the bathroom for her. Stepping into Harry's field of vision, she watched as his eyes widened comically and he gave an involuntary gulp. Smiling widely, she pirouetted to show him the entire outfit before slinking her way over to the bed.

As she climbed beneath the covers, Harry lifted his arm, and she curled up next to him while draping one of her legs across his and lay her head down on his shoulder. Leaning up, she placed a tender kiss on his cheek and said softly, "I love you and nothing is going to change that." She was gently tracing circles on his other shoulder with her free hand while she gazed into his troubled eyes.

"Thanks." Harry whispered. "It's a lot to take in all at once, you know? Are you going to be okay?" he finished with a sigh.

Hermione continued tracing patterns on Harry's chest with her fingers for a few moments before she answered in a barely audible voice, "Eventually. I know it was silly of me to never consider how destructive and dangerous magic could be, but today really made me see things differently." She paused to gather her thoughts and to regain control of her emotions before continuing softly, "I guess that I better understand some of what you have been through over the years now."

She perched herself up on his chest, looked directly into Harry's eyes, and said, "I'm sorry that I wasn't there for you after what you went through your first three years." When she finished speaking, Hermione had tears in her eyes.

"Hey, it's okay." Harry said while tenderly wiping away one her stray tears. "You have been more help to me over the years than I can possibly begin to explain. If it weren't for your help, I don't think that I would have been able to make it through some of the things that we've done." he finished quietly while cupping Hermione's cheek in his callused hand.

Hermione clung to Harry tightly as she snuggled as close as possible to his chest. Hearing Harry's reassurances that she did help him cope made her feel a bit better about her actions from the past few years. Part of her worries were irrational, especially after witnessing first hand how he comforted her in her times of need even while he was dealing with the burdens of the Tournament.

Changing the subject, Hermione asked in a mock angry tone, "Now, when were you planning on telling me you were an Animagus?" Before he could answer her question, she lightly poked him in the ribs and said, "And why didn't you let me help?"

Squirming from her poking and her question, Harry mumbled, "I wanted it to be a surprise but then I found out that I was a snake and I was worried that it would frighten you. Then my form felt different after my encounter with the dragon but I couldn't figure out why." Reaching up, Harry ran his hand through her hair while he gathered his thoughts.

Smiling at the memory of finding out he was an Animagus, Harry said happily, "I had just finished reading the journal for the fifth or sixth time and I was thinking about my dad and Sirius when I discovered my form. I had been imagining that I was with dad, Sirius, and Remus during one of their jaunts around the grounds. The next thing that I knew, I was seeing things from a very different perspective."

Hermione noticed the wistful smile on Harry's face and she could hear the emotion in his voice as he spoke. Deciding to save her questions for later, she settled for getting comfortable and repositioned her head on his shoulder and settled down to listen to the rest of his tale.

Harry felt Hermione shifting and gave her shoulder a light squeeze with his arm before continuing with a light chuckle in his voice, "Honestly, I discovered my form by complete accident. The hard part was changing into a snake again but with a conscious thought instead. The first transformation happened so fast that I didn't really have time to concentrate on the magic. It's also a good thing that I didn't transform in the Great Hall or in front of a bunch of people the first time."

Hermione could feel the blush on Harry's chest and she couldn't quite stifle a giggle. Curious, she asked, "What happened?" She almost laughed aloud when she felt his chest grow even warmer in embarrassment.

Giving up on controlling his blush, Harry finally blurted, "When I transformed my clothes didn't change with me. So, when I turned back, I was completely starkers."

Hermione lost it and started giggling when the image of a naked Harry looking for his clothes after his first transformation.

She felt a sudden surge of magical energy from Harry and seconds later, she was cuddling a nine-foot long Coatl instead of her blushing husband. Squashing her desire to scream, Hermione calmly reached up and rubbed the scales between his eyes and said playfully, "You know, you have the cutest shade of pink in your scales. Perhaps a nice bow and a few pictures are in order?"

There was another shudder of magic and Harry reappeared blushing and scowling at the same time. Indignantly, he quietly retorted, "I do not have pink in my scales!"

Hermione's response was a single raised eyebrow, very reminiscent of Professor Snape.

"Okay, fine." Harry huffed, "Perhaps there is a bit of pink under the right light."

She patted his chest lovingly and cooed, "Aww, you make such a cute little snake too. Would you like for me to set up a nice aquarium with a heated rock?"

"No!" Harry quickly replied, and to his shame, his voice broke like a little child.

Still chuckling slightly, Hermione snuggled closer to Harry and whispered, "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about the pink in your scales. Let's try to get some sleep, I'm really knackered from today, and I bet that tomorrow is going to be intriguing."

Harry leaned down to kiss Hermione good night. As he pulled back, he said warmly, "I love you, good night."

"Good night and I love you too." Hermione replied as she settled into his embrace secure in the knowledge that whatever happened, they would face it together.

....

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