The Detour to Reality

For disclaimer see first chapter’s notes.


Thanks to my proofreaders: Tumshie and mlui

Chapter Two


Nurse Lisa entered Harry’s room with a bundle of clothes and said, ‘Get dressed; you’re leaving the hospital today.’


Harry looked at the clothes bundle, which contained a pair of jeans, underwear, T-shirt, shirt, and a plain woollen jumper. Harry enquired as to how she knew his size after he changed behind a privacy screen.


‘Well when you were unconscious, we had to get rid of your old clothes as they were ruined; your clothes made you look a lot smaller than you are and I knew from the books that they were hand-me-downs, so I made sure that the clothes you are now wearing fit you correctly,’ replied Lisa.

‘Come on, we have to meet Doctor Spencer down in the car park.’


Harry smiled as he approached a dark blue car that Jim and Hermione were standing beside. Hermione was in a pale blue dress and a pale yellow cardigan. Jim unlocked the car and told everyone to pile in. As he pulled out of the car park, he explained that they were going shopping before going to their new accommodation. Harry was just happy to be out of the bloody hospital and with his friends; he considered Jim and Lisa as his friends after everything they have done for Hermione and himself.


Harry found that the shopping to be an unusual experience since he'd never gone shopping for a completely new wardrobe of clothes before, it was different than shopping for robes. Jim politely told him that the women were in charge and his job was to just carry the bags. They decided to shop for Harry first. Harry did not enjoy the constant changing into new outfits that he had to do, in order to find clothes that the women approved of. But it kept Hermione happy, so on reflection it wasn’t so bad. After getting the essentials and many changes of clothes, ranging from training to casual and dress outfits, they moved onto suits which surprised Harry, as he thought that the dress pants and shirts and ties were formal enough, but Jim insisted on at least two suits. When they were finished with Harry’s shopping, they had lunch.


Harry discovered that both Lisa and Hermione had enjoyed themselves playing dress up with him. After lunch, the women disappeared to begin Hermione’s clothes shopping; meanwhile, Jim took Harry browsing through various sports and electronic stores until they were summoned by Jim’s mobile phone. They entered a shop selling exclusively female attire, to find Lisa standing outside the changing rooms. Harry’s jaw dropped as Hermione came out of the changing room, in a flowing spring dress that left very little to his imagination, blushing, he turned round. Hermione smiled at Harry’s bashful reaction and agreed with Lisa that it suited her. It was a modestly cut dress but moulded to her body like a second skin. After her terrible injury, it was very empowering to feel beautiful and womanly.


Hermione thought that after the curse had hit her, she would be shunned like a leper, always overlooked but that changed after her miraculous recovery with Harry’s help. Hermione was snapped out of her melancholy mood when Harry mentally asked her what was wrong and started to apologise for his fish out of water routine; he showed Hermione his thoughts that yes she was beautiful, with that he was shocked speechless and was terrible at dealing with women and he begged for forgiveness.


After processing this, Hermione instructed Harry to turn back around and flung herself at him in an embrace in thanks for just being himself. The shop assistant on the counter for the changing room sighed, ‘Ah, young love,’ but this was only heard by Jim and Lisa who started to chuckle.


Hermione reluctantly disengaged from Harry and returned to the changing room to get changed out of the new dress.


Once they'd finished all of the shopping, they loaded the car and Jim drove to a restaurant in the nearest village to the estate they were moving into. During dinner, Jim explained the history of the estate—it’s size and how the tax man wanted to offload it. The locals believed it was haunted. Legend said that a young woman, who had just turned seventeen, was due to be forced to marry an aristocrat, but was in love with a local stable boy two years her senior. When her father found out, he sacked the stable boy and the rest of his family. On the day of the wedding up at the large Manor House, she threw herself off the roof four stories up. The tax man said that all the people who viewed the place fled in terror and Jim was the only one who managed to view the entire estate in peace. Jim further explained that he had been up at the house for the last couple of weeks preparing it and he had seen no sign of a ghost. Harry responded that he had lived at Hogwarts and was used to ghosts and Hermione agreed.


After the meal, they were driven to the house in the grounds of the estate. After a brief tour, they were guided to the fourth floor. Jim explained that the only modifications done to the house was an upgrade of the electrical systems and the plumbing, and a new computer network was also installed. The ground floor was virtually untouched. The rooms on the second floor were converted into various rooms suitable for class work; a new library was also installed containing reference works for their new coursework. The third floor was designated for their new teachers, so that they could spend time overnight if it were required. The entire fourth floor was Harry and Hermione’s domain.


Hermione was given one of the master bedrooms on the fourth floor. The room was large and bright with polished oak floorboards. There was a large wrought iron king-sized bed along one wall with violet and pink curtains tied back. The bedspread was of a deeper shade of pink, almost red in colour. There were two bedside tables on either side of the bed, which were made from polished bog oak. On the tables were polished brass lamps with dark pink lampshades resting on violet tablecloths. The floor had two deep fluffy rugs: one in black while the other showed a scene of a forest glen; it was orientated to be seen from the main bedroom door. Along the east wall was a pair of French doors leading to the balcony. By the side of the west wall were two doors: one led to a large changing room and the other to a large bathroom, all the surfaces were finished in marble. It contained a large walk-in shower in an alcove with multiple showerheads and jet nozzles. The bath was a large affair—it was at least four metres square by one and a half metre deep. It was a decadent bathroom. The walls of Hermione's room were covered in soft pink quilted wallpaper. The ceiling was painted white, a crystal chandelier hung from the centre of the high ceiling. The room also contained an out of place workstation made from pine. Set up at the workstation was a state of the art computer with a large flat screen panel display with a printer/scanner connected.


Harry’s suite was similar in décor: the only difference was this room was obviously decorated for a male with a blue and green colour scheme instead of the scheme used in Hermione’s suite. Hermione’s suite was situated in the southeast corner of the house; Harry’s was on the north in the northeast corner. The other two suites were of a more neutral colour scheme— one suite had a cream and yellow colour scheme, while the other scheme was a shade of green. Harry’s room contained an identical computer set up to Hermione’s.


One of the larger rooms on the second floor was set up as an entertainment room with many large comfortable chairs, a large projector, which showed television channels, DVDs, or feeds from the computer network. It was a warm inviting room perfect for relaxing or watching films. Beside this room was a games room containing a snooker table and poker table. The snooker table was in excellent condition and Jim was delighted to discover it after he took control of the deeds, it was in better nick than the one he played on at his local snooker club.

Jim’s friend, George Goodman, ran a prize wining stables nearby; he heard through the grapevine what Jim was trying to do for the teens and offered to train the two teenagers how to ride horses. He donated six of his oldest and calmest horses to the estate and over the first two weeks, the teens were taught the basics of horse riding. George’s thought process was to give the teens a hobby to relax with.


After a week staying at the Manor House, Harry bumped into a young man working on one of the very expensive computers. He was thin and gangly; he introduced himself as Lisa’s brother Samson, Sam for short. Sam explained that he was doing his doctorate in information technology and that his sister asked him to help out. In between their horse riding lessons, Sam showed Harry and Hermione how to use the new computer network, how to use the Internet, and how to navigate it safely. When Harry questioned safely, Sam explained about all the potential pitfalls and dangers that lurk on the net. When Harry explained his fascination with Dudley’s Playstation, Sam laughed and said it was now a very old system, and that he preferred the games on the PC to those that were on the consoles. Harry asked Sam to show him some of these superior games. Sam explained that he has set up a couple of the computers with Steam accounts and had installed some other games as well. Harry asked what Steam was? Sam went on to explain what Steam was used for and the history behind its publisher, Valve. Harry thought that the people behind the company were fascinated by plumbing and water.


Sam explained that the way the network and games licenses were set up, he could play against players from anywhere on the planet but warned him to be very careful with his magical emissions, which would more than likely kill the very expensive network.


Harry got addicted to Half Life 2: Deathmatch and Team Fortress 2. He enjoyed the friendly banter on the various servers he came across. Hermione was disgusted in the beginning with Sam for introducing Harry to video games, but after Harry showed her the multiplayer side and the fact that women can play computer games as well, she mellowed and found that she liked the quirky game Portal. Hermione was amazed at the progress of technology from her time and now, even though it was just over ten years. Arthur would be hard pressed to keep up with the progress of technology. Her father had a very large mobile phone the size of a brick, which he had for three or four years, but she had seen kids at the shops with phones that were much smaller, and she did not know how they manage to never misplace them as the phones appeared to be smaller than a man's wallet.


When Hermione enquired when training would start, she received a reply that everything would be ready by about June. However, John McClain started the two teens on their unarmed combat training and fitness exercises to increase their stamina and endurance. John was a tall man of an even six foot. He had an athletic build with a weather beaten face and piercing slate grey eyes. He had a bald spot with the remaining grey hair to the sides and the back of his head shaved. He looked to be a fit fifty-year-old man and not pushing his true age of almost seventy. He exuded an air of menace and Harry knew instinctively not to get him angry.


John started the lesson with an overview of what they had hoped to cover.

“We will begin by getting you fit. Build up your stamina. I will teach you the correct stances that will offer you the most options on how to defend yourselves. I will not lie to you—in the beginning, you will hurt and be in pain and you may even hate me, but it will save your life. You will set the pace, by how fast you learn this. I hope to cover self defence augmented with your magic, but I will only cover that once you are an expert at the basics.”


John spent the next hour teaching them the basic forms of martial arts and the correct stances of the various different disciplines.


They got into a routine of getting up at seven every morning to start training at eight, they were allowed to have a shower about half past nine in the morning, and were free to do what ever they wanted till a half hour session at about half past five in the afternoon. John explained that come time for their other courses, they would be held between ten in the morning and half past five in the evening. As the teachers were not free till June, he decided that there was no excuse not to start training now.


After about a week of training, the two teens were introduced to another trainer, Conner Wallace, a Scotsman. Connor wore a kilt with a clashing Hawaiian shirt. He was a tall well built man with long sun bleached brown hair tied up into a ponytail. He had a deeply tanned face and piercing hazel eyes. John explained that Connor would eventually teach them how to fight with both the bastard and samurai swords. Conner interjected that not only that, but he would teach Harry all about women and sex. Harry turned red in embarrassment, while John laughed, saying that Conner was a bit uncouth but was a great friend to watch your back. At this proclamation, Conner apologised to Hermione with a low bow and a peck on Hermione’s hand.


Every day, Harry and Hermione would go horseback riding to explore the large estate lands around the Manor House. They had their unarmed combat training out in the courtyard in all sorts of weather; the stables were just off of the courtyard. Hermione found an old rose garden overgrown with weeds and Harry suggested tidying it up. He found that he enjoyed this type of gardening, as there was no one to criticise him about his gardening skills; he was pleasantly surprised when Derek, one of the groundsmen, Jim had hired to clean up the estate helped him out. It took two weeks of gruelling work to tidy the garden, but the reward was worth it as Hermione loved to come out and read books on the bench in the rose garden. In consideration of Hermione's displeasure at Harry’s addiction to computer games, he limited his time to a maximum of three hours a night. He was not looking forward to the proposed classes, as he would have no time for his computer games.


Jim taught Harry and Hermione how to play pool and snooker; Hermione was surprised that she was good at it. Jim was not surprised that Harry took to the games like a duck to water, as most professional sportsmen were good at other sports as well as the one they were paid to play. The books implied that he was very talented at Quidditch, so it was no surprise that he was good at other sports; he would like to get him out on the golf course, but right now, his time was too scarce.


Aaron was pleased with Harry and Hermione’s counselling sessions. At first, they did not like the idea that they had participated in someone’s death. But after explaining to Harry about his first year encounter with Voldemort, which resulted in Professor Quirrell's death, they now understood the trials they would have to face much better. Aaron helped Harry work through his grief for his parents and explained that Rowling stated that she killed Sirius off with the veil because she wanted it to be difficult for Harry to find closure. Aaron explained that the two of them were in a fight for their lives and that meant that sometimes, you will be involved in other people’s death. He expressed his surprise that the fifth book did not mention the six deaths of the Death Eaters. Hermione said it was just one more omission from those damn books.


Jim and John discussed Harry and Hermione’s magical education with the teenagers. John said that the two teens should pick a spell or charm and try to replicate it wandlessly. Hermione suggested her bluebell flame, the waterproof fire spell. John told her to concentrate on the feeling her magic made as the spell left her wand, in her memories. After Hermione mastered her spell, she guided Harry through the process via their linked minds. After their meeting, Harry found it getting progressively easier to relearn the various spells and charms. Both Harry and Hermione were finding it easier and easier to use their magic especially without frying the electronic equipment in the house. Jim was very happy with all the progress made, but was anxious to start Harry and Hermione on the academic subjects.


Harry woke up and checked the calendar as per habit: it read the ninth of June.

That means I’ve been here for about five months. I miss my friends from Hogwarts and I wonder how the Weasleys are doing? thought Harry to himself as he went about his morning routine.


Today was the first day of his new training schedule. Classes began at ten in the morning after his daily shower. Their first lesson was languages, covering English, French, German, Spanish, and finally Latin. They had seven hours of instruction per week in languages. An Anne Prendergast taught the French and German courses, and Morgan Smyth covered Spanish and Latin. Both lectures also taught English and included lessons in world history as both had doctorates in their chosen field. Harry and Hermione found the languages course gruelling but rewarding. Harry found that the instruction in Latin helped him remember and understand more spells better as the incantations used were mostly originated from Latin. Jim explained that the education they were receiving was based more around a college-based timetable than a rigid school based one. Harry found that after a month his vocabulary was increasing. Both lecturers issued required reading as well as homework.


In the afternoon after lunch on Mondays and Wednesdays, they had Crafts situated out in the converted stables. This particular stable was redecorated to become a workshop—it contained a furnace, anvil, and vices for working metal. There was also woodworking equipment. A jovial barrel-chested man was waiting for them. He was about five and a half feet tall; he had a face full of a well-groomed beard and a head of thick curly black hair. He was wearing a heavy black leather apron over his clothes. He reminded Harry of a smaller version of Hagrid. He introduced himself as Tom Flynn. He went on to explain that since the instructors did not know what was covered on the syllabus at Hogwarts in any great detail, they thought that for Transfiguration and Conjuring training they would have to know how the objects are really constructed or created. So they thought that they would teach Harry and Hermione how to make various objects out of wood and metal to begin with in this class before moving onto much more complicated ones.


Their maths lecturer was frustrated at their level of knowledge in this subject as it was in her opinion substandard. She fortunately was very patient and Harry found it difficult to master the maths. He did not know why he needed to study this subject and when he mentioned this thought to Miss Moneypenny, she just laughed and replied that it was an important subject required in the normal world. To compliment their maths course and expand on it, they were sent to a new room, which was set up as a science laboratory. The man waiting for them was a tall wiry man with bright blue eyes and wispy blonde hair, who introduced himself as Alexander Giles, and said to refer to him as Alex. Alex went on to say that he would be teaching them the sciences, Physics and Chemistry. He also explained that Jim would be teaching Biology and Medical Training up at the hospital every Wednesday morning.


Harry and Hermione met John McClain on Thursdays for a course he dubbed Tactics, which boiled down to him teaching them everything he had learnt from his time in the army and with the New York Police Department. He covered squad tactics in combat, the skill sets detectives needed to do their jobs, any thing he could think of that they needed to know to give them an advantage when they returned home to their world and face Riddle. John said to always refer to the perpetrator by his or her birth name, it drives them mad and besides in the last book, Voldemort put a taboo on his name that drew his supporters to any one stupid enough to say it. Riddle used this tactic because he knew that Dumbledore and his followers were not afraid to say the name, Voldemort. John also taught the teens how police forces and the military went about intelligence gathering.


Harry was amazed to find that the time flew. He felt a sense of peace due to the fact that right now in the real world, no one was trying to kill him. He could start afresh and found that after the first two weeks of this new routine, he enjoyed it. At night, before he fell asleep were the worst part of the day as he found himself dwelling on all the people he left behind. The only person from home was Hermione and he knew that she felt just as lost as he did. After starting on the rose garden with Hermione before this new course of education, they were now working on a kitchen garden, growing various spices and vegetables. Harry got talking to the chef who prepared the Sunday dinners for everyone in the house. During their conversations, the topic of feeding the Dursleys came up, so the chef challenged Harry to a cook off to see how good Harry really was. The chef was impressed with the results and said that all Harry needed to do was refine his skills and to cook for someone who appreciated good cuisine. Like everybody else at the Manor House, the chef knew the truth about Harry and Hermione’s history and offered to also train Hermione in the refined art of preparing food, which she eagerly accepted.


Once John and Conner felt that the two teenagers were competent with unarmed combat, they added classes on armed combat. Conner started the first lesson on armed combat and proceeded to explain that he would teach them how to fight with both the bastard and samurai swords. How to throw knifes and eventually help them learn how to conjure shurikens (small steel discs) and throw them at their enemies with a high degree of accuracy. After mastering the blades, they would move on to pistols and rifles. Connor explained that just because they were fighting other wizards, did not mean that they had to restrict their response to just magic.


‘Also if you’re in a fight for your life, there are NO Rules. So, ignore some stupid wizard laws that could get you killed. That also means in a fight for your life, it’s you against them, so that means there is no such thing as fair fight. I am standing in front of you today because I fight dirty. Never let your opponent get the first shot, but if they manage it, hit back a hell of a lot harder.’


Harry and Hermione quickly fell into their new routine. Harry found his energy levels and stamina increasing. Every weekend, he would go riding with Hermione; they would explore the large estate together. Harry found he enjoyed the crafts class; it was nice to finish the lessons and have something to show for it (when he cooked for the Dursleys, he did not have anything to show for it and never got the chance to enjoy the fruits of his labours). Harry was shocked to learn that he was good with his hands, be it with cooking or crafting objects.


He was pleased to learn that his control and knowledge of his magic was coming on in leaps and bounds. During the lessons dubbed Magic by Jim and the McClain brothers, Harry and Hermione were given some simple exercises at first. Conjuring multiple copies of a stuffed bears until they were exhausted. After an hours break, they would do it again. Harry was surprised that they could make more and more copies of these bears. The bears were put into boxes that were numbered and dated to see how long they lasted—in the beginning, they only lasted for a couple of minutes, but now they almost lasted for a day.


All the while, they went back through five years of the Hogwarts curriculum and any extra spells Hermione discovered in her study sessions. They tried to replicate them in their new environment; so far, they had only managed three spells, the Summoning Charm, Lumos and most shocking of all, the Patronus Charm. They mastered these spells wandlessly by concentrating on what it felt like to cast the spells with a wand and trying the very same now here without the possibility of using one. The first spell was by far the hardest one to relearn. Harry figured that with Hermione’s help, he could relearn almost all of the spells in about nine months, at their current pace.


Jim was pleased with Harry and Hermione’s progress. He had set them up on a college-based system as he found that he had learnt more in his college days because of all the projects he had to complete for his course work. Harry and Hermione did not do homework, per se; however, they did have a three hour supervised study session with their lecturers in rotation each night. Jim knew that the workload was heavy, but he now considered both teenagers as very close friends. He wanted to provide them with the tools and training—so that when the war was over, they could enjoy the peace after wards and could realistically expect better prospects. The main advantage to the busy schedule was it didn’t give the teens a chance to dwell on where they were and the fact that they were very far from home. Jim knew that John was anxious to try out a theory that he had been dwelling upon for incorporating magical argumentation of body parts and the body's systems during unarmed training, but was waiting until they were good enough so that he could minimise the risk of injury.


Hermione found the Internet to be a strange and wonderful thing after Sam had explained the potential pit falls and how to get the most out of it. She found many of the sites about ‘Harry Potter’ and was disturbed at the various pairings the fans had come up with. She knew in her heart and soul that she had no feelings but revulsion for Riddle.


I don’t understand how anyone could like him? she thought to herself.


In her opinion, Draco was a nasty piece of work; she was put off at seeing photos of the actor who played the part in the films. After being introduced to the TV show Buffy, she could see how in some twisted world it might happen. Maybe because girls are attracted to the bad boy, with thoughts of maybe taming them. She did not enjoy surfing the various combative shipping boards on various Internet sites arguing which male or female was good enough for her. Hermione found the fan fiction that the others were talking about; afterwards, she was confused about who she would end up marrying.


In the books, she ended up with Ron. But after reading the books and surfing the net, she now thought that it seemed more like an abusive relationship than true love. According to the books, Harry loved her like a sister, but Hermione was now finding herself falling in love with him. She felt lucky to be able to talk to Lisa about boys. She was glad that Harry was a gentleman, and suggested they both keep a section of their minds private because this was where she kept her developing feelings hidden. She only got a chance to mull over the problem just before falling asleep each night. Harry helped her through the feelings of homesickness as she badly missed her mother and father; it was almost like grief and gave her an insight into how Harry felt once it was explained to Harry that Sirius was really dead. The author wrote it that way, so that Harry would not have the closure that a body to bury would bring.


On the fifteenth of September, Harry and Hermione’s instructors had a review to see how they were coping with the workload. On the surface of it, things seemed fine, but Aaron knew there was a problem festering. Harry and Hermione were waiting for the other shoe to drop. Every year at Hogwarts, they were in danger and looking for ways to counteract it, but here in the real world, the only thing overhanging them was the unknown date that they would go back home. Aaron reported that both teenagers missed their friends and relations, and found themselves on the outside here looking in. It was decided to give the teens large projects to focus on that would combine many of the subjects to distract them, as Aaron said the only real solution was for them to return home.


John was delighted with the progress Harry and Hermione had made at picking up the skills he had taught them in the various disciplines of martial arts. He was not concentrating on one particular form such as karate but mixing various similar forms, so that a master of any particular discipline would not know what to expect. This was the same way his father-in-law had taught him; it kept him alive to this day. So, he wanted to pass it on to Harry and Hermione, as he had no children of his own to pass his wife's family legacy onto. A week after the review, he decided he wanted to try to introduce magic in unarmed combat. First, he got the pair to meditate, concentrating their magic to flow through their bodies. He then directed them to focus that magic on their right arm and hand, making that body part faster and stronger. He also got them practising punching a bag harder than they ever could. After Hermione's second attempt, she was able to burst the bag with one punch. John groaned—he would need stronger equipment.


Hermione was frustrated. Connor had been showing them how to fire various pistols for the last two weeks. He had started with the Glock 19, three weeks after the instructors had their review. Hermione thought it was just another name for tests except they did not receive the exam results.


Damn it! I like getting exam results! she thought to herself.


After getting over her fear of the firearm, Hermione discovered she was a good shot. She could hit the bull’s eye with the first shot but missed with every shot afterwards. Connor explained that this was due to the recoil raising the barrel of the gun. John suggested using a charm of some sort to reduce or eliminate the recoil.


Hermione baulked at first when she was given the pistol to test her charms on. It was an Israeli made Desert Eagle bored for the .50AE cartridge and John wanted her to triple the magazine’s capacity from the original capacity of seven rounds to the target of the weapons bullet magazine holding twenty one bullets. Hermione thought it was far too big for her, but John responded that she could potentially face a feral werewolf, which he assumed would need the large calibre bullet to take the wolf down. He further explained what the size big meant that the Desert Eagle was still smaller and easier to conceal than a gas operated rifle such as the AK47. At this statement, Hermione was confused and asked John to clarify what he had said. John went on to explain that the working principles behind the gun closely matched that of a gas operated rifle. The bullets were fed into the chamber with a gas operated mechanism as opposed to the short recoil system used on other hand gun designs. As the bullet was fired, the gasses produced by the bullet worked a mechanism that loaded the next bullet. Hermione was happier once she learnt that Harry had his own difficult task to master. John had set him up with the difficult task of conjuring a functioning pistol.


Harry had to conjure a Glock 19. He started by attempting to conjure each piece and then to assemble the weapon, bullets included. Harry eventually managed to conjure a fully working and loaded gun in under five seconds, while John and Conner pelted him with beanbags. Connor explained that the beanbags were the closest and safest method available to them so that they could approximately simulate magical combat. By the time Harry had mastered his project, Hermione had successfully charmed the Desert Eagle so that it had no recoil, and had four times the capacity of a non-magical gun. John, then, gave them a joint project of combining both projects (i.e., conjure a pistol with drastically increased capacity with no recoil). By the end Hermione could, with the charmed Desert Eagle, hit the bull’s eye with every shot.

Hermione preferred the projects issued in the Craft’s class instead of the ones with those damn guns. She did not enjoy using the guns but understood why they were being trained to use them. Even if she never fired a gun after the training, she now understood the devastating effectiveness a skilfully used gun could do, possibly to a wizard too. Connor and John went to great lengths to explain why Harry and she were being trained to fight and possibly to kill. They pointed out that most master martial artists rarely solved their disputes with violence, compared with someone with minimal training. John elaborated that it took many years to become skilled in martial arts, and with those extra years came an understanding of life and its worth—of course, theirs was always exception to these rules.


John expected that their struggle to defeat Riddle could result in armed conflict between wizards. During John's time in the military, he was shown various points in the history of warfare where one side was guaranteed victory on the battle field by introducing new or never seen before weapons or tactics. For example, the first time a machine gun was used was in battle. Therefore, Harry and Hermione were instructed on modern weapons and tactics, as it was felt that the magical world resembled Victorian England in attitudes and perception—the way they perceived the non-magical folks was stuck in the Victorian era. A prime example is Lucius Malfoy’s demeanour towards all things Muggle and anyone associated with them.. The biggest culprits of this mistaken opinion of Muggles and Muggle-borns were the bigoted pure-bloods. By believing that they were better than Muggles, they underestimate them and their technology. John believed that in an early battle with Riddle's thugs, a silenced pistol could prove a devastating option for Harry and Hermione to use against their opponents in a fight.


Harry and Hermione had many discussions about their combat training and about the attitudes of John and Connor. Harry did not like the idea that he would probably end up killing more people before he defeated Riddle. Hermione's reassurances that it did not make him a bad person did not help matters. Harry did not like the fact that Aaron agreed with Hermione in his counselling sessions. Harry did not know whether to broach the topic of his recent dreams with either Hermione or Aaron. Harry snorted at the thought that even though he shared his thoughts with Hermione, he could still keep some thoughts private; although on reflection, it was mutually agreed upon to keep those thoughts private. At first, Harry was pleased that his wet dreams were definitely kept from Hermione. Harry's dreams lately felt like the visions he received from Riddle, but instead, they were of the African savannah. They felt so very real—as if he was really there, but then he would wake up in a cold sweat. As he could not get back to sleep, he would take a shower and then go for a run before meeting Hermione for training. Harry knew instinctively that Hermione was disturbed about something too, even if he never broached the mind link with Hermione. However, he felt that if he probed about it, Hermione might ask questions that Harry did not want to answer, especially considering he could never lie to her as it was not in him to do so.


Harry was depressed; it was the week before Halloween and the marketing machine was winding up for the November release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Everybody at the Manor House knew about Harry’s foul mood, and Aaron decided to do something about it. After talking with Harry, he suggested to have some sort of memorial for his parents. John suggested a party like an Irish wake.


Harry responded, ‘A party? Are you mad?’


‘No, I am not mad! A wake is the celebration of the deceased's fruitful life, not the fact that they’re dead.’


Harry thought about it and eventually agreed.


‘You know, Harry, that you left in the month of July and arrived in the month of February?’ asked Aaron.


‘What does it matter?’


‘It just dawned on me that we missed both of your birthdays and that we missed your parents true anniversary date due to the time difference. Sorry about that.’


‘We can still remember them,’ insisted Jim. Harry agreed and the event was planned for the thirty-first of October.


For the first time in Harry’s life, he found himself able to grieve for all the people that he had lost in his life: his mother and father, the loss of Sirius, and the death of Cedric due to the fact he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Hermione comforted him throughout the day. Harry felt he would be utterly lost with out his best friend. The weather perfectly matched Harry’s mood that day by raining from sunrise to sunset. All classes that Friday were cancelled to allow them to host the wake. About four o'clock that evening, Jim was called back to the hospital—a detective wished to speak to him. Harry had an uneasy feeling about it. Hermione hugged him by saying that they would face whatever it is together.


Detective Inspector Peter Morse was having a very difficult time on his current case. He had been on the case since March, and the more he uncovered, the bigger the case became. It all started when he was called to a block of flats in Manchester. A woman called the police complaining about her neighbours fighting. She also reported that the fight finished with a loud clap of thunder. When the police responded they discovered that the flat was vacant with no one listed at the address. When they broke down the front door to investigate, they discovered the lower part of a male body. It was as if the body was cut from the left shoulder to the right hip. There were no signs of struggle. In the bedroom on the broken bed, a fourteen-year-old girl was found dead.


After the autopsy was performed on the girl, it was discovered that she was sexually active with the DNA trace of two separate semen samples—one of which matched the half body of the unidentified man, which technically was statuary rape. The cause of death for the girl was unknown, but the pathologist noted that both the heart and brain died at the exact same time, which was very strange. If the girl's heart had stopped, the brain would have stopped working approximately four minutes later. The body showed no signs of struggle or defensive wounds; the rape kit showed minimal damage to the vagina, which was very unusual. The blood work showed no evidence of drink or drugs in the girl’s system. The other half of the male body was found in Liverpool; it appeared from the evidence at the scene of which the body arrived at its new location by unknown means and fell forward twenty feet distorting the remains. The only means Peter knew that could possibly do this was a helicopter, and the only one known in the area at the time was the one police had—so that was a dead end.


After that first strange case, Peter was sent word about another dead female body showing the same signs as the fourteen-year-old girl. No signs of struggle; it appeared almost consensual, which was very wrong for rape cases. After the fourth and fifth cases were identified, it be came clear that it was a serial killer, as the semen trace for the victims were identical. But the fourth and fifth cases were unique in that the time of death for both victims were only four hours apart, but at opposite ends of the island of Great Britain—one was found in Inverness in northern Scotland and the other was found in Plymouth in southern England. This was impossible to achieve with the normal transport options available. The two different crime scenes matched the previous three in that there was no evidence of movement to show how the killer was entering and leaving the crime scenes. The dead male body was also very puzzling due to the fact it appeared to be clothed in period clothes from around the time of the Titanic and was rife with a sexual disease last prevalent during the same period.


As more and more cases cropped up with matching DNA evidence, police departments contacted him because of the DNA evidence linking the cases. As he was officer in charge of the first case, he was now in control of a massive case covering the whole of Great Britain. By now the end of October, the police had confirmed over seventy-five deaths and twenty-nine rape cases to this one man. The police were very careful to keep this case quiet; if word got out, the panic would be unprecedented. Unlike previous serial killers and rapists, whom had preferred tastes in how the victims looked or acted, this guy was different in that all the victims were from all walks of life, and all ages. The rape cases were the exact same: the women were all diverse in age and body type. The youngest victim was twelve and the oldest was fifty-two years of age. It made absolutely no sense. In the course of his investigation, he had heard about the strange incidents surrounding two teenagers from Radstock back around March. He found it suspicious that the two kids had disappeared from the medical system and was on his way to interview their doctor, a James Spencer from the local hospital, because his gut told him that their was a connection to his unsolved case that seemed to grow ever bigger as time rolled on.


Peter sat waiting in Doctor Spencer's office; he was informed that the doctor was at a family function and would be here in ten minutes. Peter took the time to study the office. Peter found you could learn a lot about a person by how they kept their workspaces and after studying James office, he felt that the man was a good and fair doctor. After a further wait of five minutes, a harried looking man rushed into the office and was taken aback at finding Peter waiting in the office. Peter introduced himself and explained Doctor Spencer's summons, as the doctor had only left a mobile phone as point of contact at the hospital. The doctor explained away his mobile phone as the only contact by saying he preferred his privacy after a mad women had stalked him fifteen years ago, looking for him to father her children instead of her husband the boxer. She rationalised it at the time by saying she wanted her children to be smart and not stupid fighters.


After the introductions, Peter shared all the details of the case with the doctor especially the many autopsy reports and Peter’s belief that Doctor Spencer knew something relevant to the case. Doctor Spencer's reaction of phoning someone named John surprised Peter at first, until Doctor Spencer explained that John was a New York police detective and could help with the case.


After John arrived and was brought up to speed, Peter found two pensive men sitting across from him. Peter knew they were hiding something, but what it was he didn't know. John was the first to speak.


‘I should have known something like this could of happened.’


Peter was confused by this statement and asked for an explanation.


‘I am going to tell you the truth. I am going to ask for patience and an open mind one police officer to another. Okay?’


Peter nodded, wondering what he had gotten him self into.


‘Your instincts are correct. The two kids are related to your case but not the way you think. I want your word of honour as a police officer that you will keep their involvement out of the investigation before I give you information.’


‘I could arrest you for with holding evidence you know.’


‘Yeah, you could, but I wouldn't talk. I was briefly captured by the Viet Cong, so your questioning wouldn't work as it will be a cake walk compared to their friendly chats with me.’


‘Who are you trying to protect?’


‘Just two lost and lonely souls that could help you catch this bastard.’


‘Okay, talk and I'll see what I can do.’


‘That's not good enough. Guarantee their involvement is kept quiet because if the press gets wind of this, they will be turned into lab rats.’


‘What do you mean . . . lab rats?’


‘After I start telling you their story, you will understand, and I'm telling you they have a lot of friends here who will go against the law if necessary to protect them.’


Peter was only now realising that what he thought was a simple follow up to a hunch was evolving into a potentially dangerous situation. He had dealt with many different types of criminals that honestly scared the shit out of him, but none matched the intimidation factor of this seventy-year-old man. Peter believed that if he did not guarantee the two teenagers’ privacy and safety, he would be possibly killed. He could now see why the doctor had called this man: he was much better than a barrister, much more intimating too. He now looked again at the doctor in a new light; these two men were willing to do anything for these two teenagers who could potently help him, how did this happen?


‘All right, I'm listening. I'll keep the two kids involvement out of the files,’ conceded Peter.


Peter sat stunned as the two men told him the story about Harry and Hermione, from their arrival up to the wake they were hosting. The various jigsaw pieces were slotting into place.


The dead man at the first crime scene … who he had visited must have been a dead wizard, but there was no wand recovered; therefore, the serial killer must also be a wizard too! That would explain the bodies of the rape victims if he used a mind control spell. Fuck! How are we going to stop him? I don't know where he lives … he could be anywhere. I'm not looking forward to briefing armed police officers to shoot first, ask questions later at any one pointing a damn stick. Fuck! I hope these two minors can help track this bastard before his body count increases. Peter thought frantically.


Peter demanded to see Harry and Hermione, but the two men refused, saying that now was not the right time to talk to them, as Harry was not in a good state of mind. Peter suggested approaching the author, but John shot the suggestion down by saying that if Harry ever met her, Peter would be arresting Harry for murder as he was not happy at how bad his life has been and how she has plotted out the next twenty-one years for him.


Peter asked, ‘Not happy with her is he?’


John's sarcastic response was ’No shit, Sherlock.’


Jim said that both teenagers were making great strides in mastering their magic, and he would introduce magical tracking into their training.


Peter asked, ‘How would they achieve this?’


‘One of their earlier lessons had them conjuring teddy bears. I will ask for more bears and have John and Connor hide them throughout the estate, let the conjuring wear off, and then have the two of them try to find out where they are hidden. The only problem is that it could take the two of them months to learn these much needed skills, but if they are successful, they would be your best shot at capturing this bastard,’ responded Jim.


John followed this statement with a warning to Peter about the potential danger the cast and crew were in of the new Potter film opening in late November. Peter frowned, as he had not considered this new angle; he was not looking forward to the meeting that they would require. John also reminded Peter that Harry and Hermione were still only teenagers and were under pressure to try to return home, and this serial killer was exploiting the situation he found himself in. Peter responded that if they could catch him, they had the twenty-nine rape cases to lock him up on.


John angrily punched the tabletop and said, ‘No, there is no catching this guy if by some miracle you do it! He can easily escape using a type of magical transportation called, Apparation, which you have no counter for! So what are you going to do?’


Peter sat pensively after this latest spanner in the works. John and Jim silently left Peter to his thoughts. This case is fucked up.


Harry did not find out what called Jim away from the wake, but he could sense a high degree of tension at the Manor House after Halloween. Their magical training was expanded in scope. Harry felt as if they were being trained for every conceivable situation. Harry and Hermione went to see the next Harry Potter film and to see what the filmmakers thought magic should look like. John taught them how to use disguises. Harry had his hair died blonde and wore brown tinted contact lenses. Hermione died her hair black and wore make up that Lisa taught her how to use. The two of them found the film to be highly confusing, like the earlier films and they pitied anyone who never read the novels before watching the films.


Their attempt at wearing disguises was a complete success. Jim noticed that after going to see the Harry Potter film, the two teenagers were depressed and were not talking about it with anyone. To make matters worse, Peter called to say that ‘the Bastard’, as Jim was now calling the unnamed wizard whom was raping and killing so many people, had added more bodies to his body count. ‘The Bastard’ was killing on average three people per week, one of which was a raped woman. Jim could tell that the case was getting to Peter, but he did not know what to do to help out.


Sarah Riding felt like someone was watching her as she returned from doing her grocery shopping. She looked all around her before opening the door to her flat. She turned around and activated the four locks in the door, as it was a very dodgy neighbourhood. Sarah had resorted to this flat after her stupid fucking husband had ran off with all of her life savings and his bloody secretary to Spain. She went into the kitchen to put away the groceries when she heard the click of the front door latch. Strange, when the dead bolt was activated, the lock was disabled from the outside; so that even if someone had the key, they could not get in. She stood in the hall in shock as the front door slowly swung open. A man dressed in dirty black clothes stood at the door threshold, Sarah saw a flash of colour before she lost consciousness.


Sarah slowly woke up to find herself spread out nude on her bed. She heard movement in the flat; she desperately looked around the room for a spot to hide before a person appeared at the bedroom door. She sighed with relief when she realised that it was a female police officer. After the police officer helped her into some of her clothes, she was brought to the hospital for an exam. She was questioned on what she remembered, and was asked to help produce a photo fit of the attacker. She was shocked when she was told by the nurse that she had been raped as she did not remember anything from the flash of colour to waking up on her own bed. She rushed to the bathroom, lucky making it to the toilet bowl before her stomach emptied.


She became aware of a man holding her hair back as she vomited into the toilet. When she cowered away from him, he stepped back away from her and introduced him self as D.I. Peter Morse. He proceed to explain that she was the first person alive to see the man whom had killed just shy of one hundred people. He told her that she was lucky to be alive as all his other victims were dead. Sarah did not feel lucky—her parents were dead, she was all alone, and Christmas was next week.


It took two days for Sarah to produce the photo fit, which was circulated to every police station on the isle of Great Britain. Peter went to interview Miss Riding again at the hotel she was put in, as she did not want to return to her flat. He was dismayed to find the door of her hotel room ajar. He called for back up and carefully entered the room to find the two missing police officers stationed as her protection face up dead on the floor. The one on the left had his truncheon shoved through his chest most likely piercing his heart. The one on the right appeared to have swallowed his canister of pepper spray. Peter cautiously entered the main bedroom of the hotel suite, to find Miss Riding attached by unknown means to the ceiling—like the last time she was found, she was naked. A message was carved on her skin, and was continued in blood on the walls.


‘You will never catch me. I know who you are Peter; she was just a test, which you utterly failed. It was funny to watch you try to help her. My next target is in Wales. Come and get me.’


Peter was appalled at the message and what it implied; at least he had the photo fit. It was going to be a very hard Christmas.


Harry woke up again from that dream of the African plains; he went about his shower to wash away his sweat. He was shocked to find Hermione sitting in a lotus position on his bed waiting for him.


‘Harry, we need to talk about these dreams of yours that have been going on for the last three months.’


Harry grunted and proceeded to ignore Hermione by drying his body with the large fluffy towel. Harry staggered as Hermione’s mind and magic made forceful contact with him.


Harry, look I am experiencing the same types of dreams. She shared her memories, of her vivid dreams of both the African savannah and of jungles. Harry was shocked to realise that they were sharing so much, even his very vivid dreams.


But why were you also keeping quiet about it, Hermione?


Oh, Harry, even with this connection, you are keeping me out. Why can’t you let me in? With that, she left Harry dumbfounded at their conversation.


Christmas was very depressing for Harry, as Hermione was not talking to him. He missed Sirius, as it was his first Christmas without him. He normally spent Christmas after his Hogwarts letter with friends or with Ron’s family. The atmosphere at the manor was steadily getting worse; it could be traced back to Halloween.


Hermione was feeling lost and very lonely. She could not figure Harry out at all. She missed her parents, especially since she was badly injured the last time she had talked with her mother. It was New Year’s Eve and she went out riding, Starburst, her favourite horse. She had been out since nine o’clock in the morning and it was now almost midday. She stopped at one of the many streams, so that the horse could drink and rest after her vigorous gallop through the many woods on the estate. Hermione tied Starburst up at one of the small trees along the edge of the stream. She stood and watched the steam rise off of her horse as he drank water from the stream; it was flowing to fast for ice to form.


Harry was very depressed and had no motivation to get out of bed. His uneasy feeling was getting very strong when he suddenly got the strong impression from Hermione’s joined magic that she was in very big trouble. Harry tried something he had never done before or so he thought. In the books, it was said that it took determination to Apparate, but this was not what Harry did. As Harry concentrated on what he wanted to do, a large ball of energy materialised around Harry, solidified, and vanished. Jim stood speechless, as the large sphere of magical energy, the diameter of which was slightly bigger than Harry’s height, had disappeared, leaving Jim as the only occupant in the room. Jim thought that there was something seriously wrong going on.


Peter was in the situation room that was set up to monitor his bloody case. He was going through this mornings intelligence reports when he spotted a sighting report near Radstock. ‘Fuck, how did he find out about Harry and Hermione? There were no notes made at all.’ He tried dialling John’s phone number, but it kept going to his answering machine.


Hermione bent down to check the laces on her boots, using this action as cover so that she could check her surroundings. She felt that she was being watched, and trying to appear unbothered, she calmly untied Starburst and mounted him, all the while her heart thumped painfully in her chest. She urged the horse into a canter away from the stream.


She felt the presence of very dark magic; it felt worst than her encounter with Riddle’s soul fragment contained in Harry’s scar. The spell sailed over her shoulder as she dove into a roll from the horse. The spooked horse bolted; however, it only made ten paces before it fell over dead as a green spell hit the horse in the rump. Hermione felt the impact tremor from Starburst's fall, as she rolled to her feet behind a copse of trees. She could barely make out the wizard, dressed in scruffy black robes.


The man sang out insanely, ‘Come out, come out, where ever you are! I promise to not hurt you!’ Following it up by whispering, ‘Just kill you after ploughing your virgin cunt.’


The man slowly approached the dead horse, with wands held in both hands; the magical emissions from the man were almost overpowering in their intensity.


Hermione crouched, panicking behind her flimsy cover and wondering what to do when her training kicked in. She followed Harry’s imitation of Half Life 2 by conjuring a gas bottle and filling it with natural gas under higher than normal pressure. This took a panic filled five seconds, all the while the man slowly stalked toward her hiding place. Just like Harry had done in his game play, she set the bottle alight. The wizard paused at seeing a floating gas bottle on fire, before Hermione mentally flung it at him. The wizard must have been familiar with Muggle technology, for he dived out of the way in the nick of time. The bottle impacted against a large oak tree before exploding and snapping the tree, causing the large canopy to fall.


The wizard slowly got up, his ears ringing from the explosion. He looked around for the strange girl; it was almost as if she was magical just, like him. He had awoken in this strange world before stumbling on that stupid Death Eater, raping the girl. After raping her himself, he felt the power and control; he found that he liked it. Back home, he could not see He Who Must Not Be Named’s point of view on his blood supremacy stance that the pure-bloods were superior. But here, he could be a god to control these stupid animals. Where had that girl gone? And how had she known to set up a catapult? Because on reflection, she was not emitting magic like the Death Eater was, so that meant she could not be magical.


Hermione silently moved around the wizard and watched as he slowly got up. The explosion was deafening and Hermione found her ears ringing She hoped that the wizard was deaf, so that she could get close enough to knock him out. She sent a silent Stunning Spell, but was dismayed when he blocked it with a Shield Charm. He returned with his own Stunner using his other wand, while at the same time, he blocked with his first wand. Hermione jumped and lightly landed on a branch twenty-five feet above the ground; she was glad of their magically augmented training, giving her the ability to evade the spell straight up. She could see the man looking around for her, and she was surprised that he did not track her movement to her new perch, as Harry would have learnt from playing games and their training that an attack could come from anywhere—above or below.


The wizard cursed as the Stunner came at him; he barely erected his Shield Charm, and blindly fired at, hopefully, the correct location. He looked around wildly; he was crap at duelling and before arriving here, he had a tendency to avoid confrontation. But that was before. He had found the stupid police officer that thought he could track him down. He had hidden around one of the first crime scenes once he was sure that there was no Ministry of Magic. He was fascinated by what the police officers did with the bodies. He found it extremely entertaining to watch the fools trying to work out how he was successful in evading capture. He swiftly learnt all about Peter Morse, but he did not know where he went back in November. It was by pure luck he had discovered that the copper had come here; he was delighted when he had stumbled on this pretty little thing on her horsey. But it was all going wrong; she was not supposed to be fighting back or a fucking witch! How dare the bitch try and resist? He was pulled from his thoughts when the ground below him started to morph into a swamp. He jumped at a low-lying branch and struggled out of his predicament.


Hermione magically hurled a conjured circular saw blade at the branch the wizard was trying to climb. The blade struck fast, the man looked wildly around at this new attack; the branch creaked and groaned, a second and third blade struck. Hermione was getting frustrated; the damn blades didn’t have enough force behind them to cleanly cut the damn branch. The man cancelled the three blades and moved to the tree's trunk. The damaged branch finally snapped and fell to the ground. Hermione was still pleased with her elevated position above her attacker. Unfortunately, the wizard fired off Fiendfyre, blindly setting the frozen wood ablaze.


Hermione dropped out of her tree with a hastily erected Shield Charm. The fire was spreading rapidly; the wizard came screaming out of the fire, ablaze himself. He cast a spell at Hermione, once he spotted her out in the open; luckily, he missed because it was still the same spell that started the inferno in the first place.


Hermione looked around blindly; she could not see due to the thick heavy smoke. She was lucky in that she knew how to cast a Bubble-Head Charm, so that she could breathe. She could hear nothing over the roar of the flames.


A body struck her around her waist, both of them fell, and a rancid breath on her neck carried his declaration, ‘I have you now, you bitch.’


Hermione struggled but all of her magical energy was directed into maintaining her Bubble-Head Charm, so she would not choke on the thick smoke. Her eyes watered from the small amount that breached her charm due to the wizards tackle.


The man pinned Hermione below him as he straddled her body about the waist, and he fixed he hands above her body with a charm. While she was struggling, it was making it difficult for him to complete his wish of taking her virginity before the unstoppable fire consumed them both. As he could not muster enough concentration to Apparate successfully, he did not want to die like that fool of a Death Eater; he wanted to go out at the peak of an orgasm.


Peter did not like the reports coming out of Radstock: a large inferno was burning through three acres of woodland. The Fire Brigade was puzzled because it was almost impossible to have a large forest fire, forget inferno in the month of December, as the ground was wet and cold—two factors that most would think would prevent fire from starting. The Fire Brigade said that even though it was obviously arson, it did not explain the huge fire. Peter knew in his gut that the ‘Bastard’ was behind this.

Harry appeared amongst thick smoke, coughing as he created a Bubble-Head Charm. He cast the Aguamenti Charm at the approaching flames, but was dismayed at their failure to extinguish the flame. Harry got a flash of Hermione’s predicament and followed her magic to her location. He found a man straddling her, and he knew from her tormented mind that the man wanted to rape her. He cast the first spell he thought of. The spell hurled the man off of Hermione; Harry sighed with relief at discovering that Hermione was still fully clothed, ignoring his surrounding he went to comfort Hermione.


He looked up when Hermione’s mind screamed at him, LOOK OUT!


The man felt a spell lift him off of his prize. He had dropped both wands beside the prize after tying it up. He enjoyed it better when they were conscious, and fruitlessly tried to fight back. He blindly searched the wooden floor for a weapon, any weapon. He found a branch about the size of a baseball bat; it was on fire and had many little twigs growing off of it. He stumbled towards his prize to find a boy trying to untie her, the fool. He patently waited for him to turn around after the prize opened its eyes wide in shock. He hit the boy across his stupid glasses—that will teach him to interfere. What’s this? He is getting up for more! The second blow to the damaged spectacles on the fool's face dropped him for good this time.


Hermione watched on in horror as Harry was struck in the face twice with the branch; it snapped with the second blow. Hermione desperately searched for any trace of Harry’s essence, and she sighed with relief when she found him, he was just badly injured. The man ignored their surroundings and slowly advanced on her. Hermione panicked and conjured five circular saw blades and flung them at the man. The bindings holding her in place failed as the man was struck in the groin, the neck, left thigh, right shoulder, and his breast bone. The man fell backwards into the swiftly advancing fire. As Hermione rolled into a stance, she found the wizard’s two wands and pocketed them before tending to Harry.


Jim rushed down stairs after Harry had vanished and was shocked to see thick black smoke rising from the forest. Horror dawned on his face as he realised that Hermione had said she was heading in that direction. He went and raised the alarm with all the other people in the house. Five minutes after Harry had vanished, a ball of light appeared near Jim. Once the sphere of energy dissipated, Jim was shocked at Harry and Hermione’s appearance. Hermione slumped forward unconscious. Jim examined both of them and discovered that Harry was badly injured; his skull was cracked around his eyes and his nose was broken. He must have debris in his eyes, as there were twigs and glass sticking out of his eye sockets. Hermione appeared to just have some slight cuts and bruises, but the marks of rope burns on her wrists were worrying. Jim phoned for an ambulance to transfer both of them to the hospital.


It took the Fire Brigade a week to extinguish the inferno. The investigation found the corpse of one man and the horse. Examination of the body found evidence of saw cuts on the bones, and after a DNA examination, it showed that this was the man, the serial killer, the police force was looking for. The investigation into his death was killed; the person responsible for this fiend’s death deserved to be called a hero, whoever they were. The cause of the inferno was never discovered and the body was too badly destroyed to reveal any other evidence. After Peter had read the report, he drove down to the hospital that contained an injured Harry Potter and a Hermione Granger who was in a coma and showed signs of smoke inhalation. Peter guessed that both of the teenagers were involved somehow. After talking with John, Peter discovered that both teenagers had a fight of some sort and Hermione had gone out riding alone; so that meant that Hermione had faced down the worst lunatic Peter had every known alone (a brave girl indeed). The prognosis for Harry was bad: his brain was swelling and his eyes were badly damaged. With the current medical technology, it was almost certain that he would be blind.


Harry was only aware of pain. He was worried about Hermione facing the attacker all alone; he should have been more aware of his surroundings. Stupid fool! I am probably going to die in this damned inferno. I hope Hermione survives.


Oh, Harry, you are a prat, you know that, came Hermione’s faint response as if she was deadly tired.


Harry slowly sent some of his magical power to Hermione. She replayed all of her memories from storming out of the house right through till she passed out in the lounge at the manor.


You came for me, even though you were fighting with me? came Hermione’s response after Harry managed to process the information. Harry gasped in agony, then abruptly cut off the connection with Hermione.


The nurse stationed outside Hermione’s private room was startled by Hermione agonised scream of “HARRY!” The nurse went to the door to find it flung open, with a frantic Hermione babbling.


“Where’s Harry? What happened to him? Take me to him.”


Before the nurse could respond, she suddenly felt severe pins and needles before Hermione barrelled past her. The nurse paged for help while trying to keep up with the frantic girl running down the hospital corridor. It was unnerving to find her going straight to Harry’s room. It was as if she was a great tracking dog sniffing out a run away prisoner. The nurse sighed with relief when she spotted Doctor Spencer approaching. After quickly relaying what happened, Doctor Spencer said that he would take over and entered the room. It was only after she had returned to her post that she realised that the corridor was dark from all the blown out lights.


Jim entered Harry’s room to find a frantic Hermione babbling at Harry. When she saw Jim, she approached and started to demand information on what was wrong with Harry. Jim explained to her that Harry’s brain was swelling and putting tremendous pressure on said organ. Hermione simply asked what she should do to help. Sighing, Jim explained that under normal circumstances, they would drill holes to try to relieve the pressure build up. As Hermione calmed down, Jim got the largest sensation of magical build up he had ever experienced with either Harry or Hermione. All the electronic devices died in the room, and after five minutes, Hermione opened her eyes and smiled, saying that Harry was back.


Jim enquired, ‘Back?’


Hermione explained that while talking to Harry, she felt the sudden loss of connection with him—especially after they had made up for their differences and resolved their argument. Jim suddenly realised that the build up of pressure on Harry’s brain had caused the loss of the connection and it was only Hermione’s swift reaction that saved Harry’s life.


Lisa slumped with relief after hearing that Harry's brain had stopped swelling. She had spent New Year's Eve with her family in Bristol and had only heard about Hermione's battle with her unnamed attacker the next day. Lisa remembered her conversation with Hermione about her love life before Halloween.


‘Lisa, can I ask you a question?’


Lisa bit back a retort after observing Hermione's expression, knowing that this was going to be a difficult talk for the girl. ‘Depends on the question, I suppose.’


‘Do you have a boyfriend? The reason I ask is, how do you know if you’re in love with someone?’


‘No, I don't have a boyfriend. I broke up just before you arrived and have been slow to get back up on the horse. Why? Where is this going?’


‘Well, I am confused. At first, I thought I liked Ron, but after reading the books and your perspective on them, I don't think he is the right match for me. And lately, I have been thinking of someone else as a potential boyfriend.’


‘Well, you can't help who you fall in love with, but do you feel like you should save yourself for Ron, or pursue this other person?’


‘After what I experienced here, I had my eyes opened to other people's opinions on the people back home. I think that I would feel like I had settled for less if I dated and eventually married Ron.’


‘So what are you going to do about Harry?’


Hermione blushed, ‘What makes you think the other person is Harry? It might be you instead.’


Lisa laughed, ‘Nice try at the attempted distraction, but it is plain as day how you react around that boy.’


‘Boy,’ an indigent Hermione responded.


‘Yes boy, just like you are a girl—stop trying to throw away your childhood. In matters of the heart you still act like children, sorry, but it is true as you both dance around each other, even with your incredible bond. I am incredibly jealous, it could lead to an amazing love life.’


Hermione resembled a ripe tomato at the new turn of their conversation. ‘So you think Harry loves me like maybe as a boyfriend?’


‘Wake up and smell the coffee; of course he does, but, unfortunately, he has not woken up yet, just like he did not wake up in the last damn book.’


Hermione's face fell at this.


‘Don't worry, I won't let it happen by giving him a swift kick up the back side,’ continued Lisa.


As Lisa returned to the present, she hoped that the two kids hooked up as they needed a break.


Hermione reminisced about the time Harry helped her to heal her damaged chest. She let her magic flow through Harry, slowly regrowing Harry's damaged skull and broken nose. She slowly reset Harry's nose with magic. After an hour, Harry's skull and nose were good as new. The only damage left was Harry's damaged eyes, but she had a solution for that she would have to talk to Jim for that.


Jim sat stunned in his office after Hermione detailed the repairs she had conducted to Harry's face. As she explained what she hoped to accomplish in repairing Harry's eyes, Jim realised that he would have to talk to Doctor Dave Everett, Harry's optician. Jim figured that Hermione's plan would work as it was based on what Harry did for Hermione. After extensive eye exams, it was discovered that Sam, Lisa's brother, had perfect 20/20 vision. Sam readily accepted to be Hermione's sample of eyes of what a fully functioning pair should be like. Just like Harry had done all those months before, Hermione let her magic flow through Sam's skull; however, Sam developed a bad headache, which he did not share with Hermione.


After three weeks of studying the eyes under supervision from both Jim and Doctor Everett, Hermione felt confident in conducting the operation on Harry. Harry was sitting in a dentist’s chair. Hermione had put him under a magical anaesthesia. Hermione’s presence flooded Harry’s body. Doctor Everett directed Hermione to remove any foreign objects from Harry’s right eye. Hermione willed the eyes to be free of debris; after a flash of light, Harry’s eyes were clear. Dave examined the two eyes. They were free from all the debris.


He, then, directed Hermione to heal his eyes using her training. As Harry did for her with her chest, she did the same for Harry by directing Harry on how to heal his own eyes. Once she finished, Doctor Everett gave Harry an eye exam. Harry passed with perfect vision. Hermione was pleased she could stare in to Harry’s soulful green eyes without the barrier of his spectacles. Harry was pleased to be up and about after being bedridden. Jim said they would return to classes tomorrow. Harry hugged Hermione in gratitude for restoring his eyes to perfect vision. Now, he would not need glasses at all. They enjoyed a peaceful day, carefully avoiding the battle that resulted in Harry's injuries. That night before going to bed, Hermione gave him a quick peck on the lips. Harry hardly slept a wink as all the events since his arrival played through his mind with Hermione's kiss at the forefront.


John was getting pissed. Potter's head was not with it this morning. In frustration, John sent Hermione on a twenty-five mile hike with the instruction to use no magic at all. She could cheat and he would never know, but she was known to follow the rules, so John was confident that she would follow the instruction to the letter.


‘Potter, what's wrong?’


Harry didn't reply, just hung his head.


‘Is this about the operation yesterday?’


‘No.’


‘Well, what's wrong?’ John stared directly into Harry's eyes.


‘Hermione kissed me and I don't know what to think.’


John roared with laughter. After a pause to catch his breathe, he asked, ‘That's all?’


‘It was a quick kiss and she was gone. She is pulling away from me.’


‘What do you mean, pulling away?’


‘Her mind and magic is pulling away; we share minds, everything, except for a small part we keep private.’


‘Oh!’ said John in a soft voice. ‘I see.’


‘What!!’ said Harry in exasperation, his earlier embarrassment forgotten.


‘Harry, I think I know what's happening; you are unique, you know.’


‘Explain.’


‘You're the only man I know who knows what women think because you’re in a woman’s head. I also believe that because of your childhood, you wouldn't know love unless it slapped you in the face. . . Or kissed you.’


‘Are you implying that Hermione loves me?’


‘Of course she does, we all do, and you should know that.’


‘I meant, does she love me like a boyfriend?’ asked Harry in exasperation at John's lack of comprehension of Harry's question.


‘Duh.’


‘What? I am getting sick of this conversation.’


‘Good, you’re an idiot. You should open your eyes you blind bat.’ With that, John left Harry in the training room.


‘Well fuck, what do I do now?’


‘My brother has no tact, but he is right.’ responded Aaron.


Harry spun around in shock. His mind was not in the training room. ‘Were you listening in?’


‘Do you love her like a girlfriend?’


Aaron ignored Harry's question, figuring that Harry needed to wake up and smell the roses. He was sick of watching the two love struck fools dance around each other, but Harry was dim.


‘Maybe.’


‘What kind of answer is that? It is a simple yes or no answer.’


‘Damn it! I can't live without her; of course, I love her. But what if she doesn't feel the same as I do, anyway? I don't want to lose her as a friend, especially if it doesn't work out between us. I panicked when that wizard attacked her, and in the end, she saved ME. What would I do without her? Be probably dead before the end of first year.’


‘I do love you, you silly man.’


Harry looked up before a brown streak barrelled him to the floor in a big embrace. Harry sent all his thoughts and feelings of love for Hermione to her.


‘Oh. Oh. Oh. OH.’ John laughed quietly as Hermione shook from an apparent orgasm of bliss.


Harry pulled back to look Hermione in the eyes. She had wet cheeks from tears of happiness and a small coy smile.


‘I love you, and we will always be friends.’ Hermione hugged Harry again.


‘MMM, does this mean you’re my girlfriend?’


‘Yes, you prat! You’re my boyfriend; do you want to go out with me next weekend?’


‘Hey, I thought I was supposed to ask that?’


‘Normally, yes, but you never do anything normal, so I decided to ask you out. So will you?’


‘Of course, I will. I would have to be blind or stupid to say no.’


Hermione beamed at Harry. John's muffled laughter could be heard from the corridor. Harry and Hermione blushed when they realised they had an audience.


The following fortnight passed in a blur for the instructors as they went through the revision before Harry and Hermione's exam after six months of lessons. Harry suggested a short memorial for Hermione's dead horse Starburst, which resulted in a fifteen minute snogging session. After the six month review, Jim stated that the two teenagers needed to get away for a holiday, away from the manor. He booked a skiing holiday flying out on Wednesday the eleventh of February 2009. Jim brought them into London to shop for supplies for their holiday in the Swiss Alps. Jim had suggested the trip to London as an excuse so that the two love birds could go on a date.


They completed shopping for supplies before lunch, which Jim took in the car. He told them he would meet up with them at Piccadilly Circus at six in the evening. After a lovely meal, they went exploring; the incident over Christmas was behind them. Hermione had reviewed the battle with John. He was impressed with her actions and said she handled herself very well. Harry was beside himself with joy that someone was in love with him. In all his years, he had met people who cared for him, and he knew that Sirius loved him, but no one was in love with him till now. Their first stop after lunch was the British Museum. At three, Harry persuaded Hermione to go shopping with him, as he wanted to buy her a friendship ring as a symbol of his love. He was introduced to the legend of the Claddagh ring from Ireland and bought Hermione a nice gold one from the bonuses the police chiefs used as incentives for the police officers to work hard at capturing the wizard.


As they came out of the jeweller’s store, Hermione was examining her new beautiful ring when a woman approached the couple from the throng of shoppers. The woman walked up to Harry and slapped him in the face very hard, and without Hermione's grip on his arm, he would have fallen flat on the path, as she had put a lot of power into the slap and Harry was not expecting it.


She exclaimed, ‘Daniel, how could you do that, to me?’


There were a couple of flashes as the reporters took pictures; Harry did not notice that they were there until the flashes went off. Harry stood stunned in shook at the attack, caressing his sore cheek.


An entourage appeared out of a gap of the startled onlookers, due to the woman screaming at Harry. A man approached from within the group. It was almost like looking into the Mirror of Erised, as if he wanted to be a model.


‘I’m sorry, Daniel,’ the woman gasped in shock at the apparent twins when she realised her mistake. She, then, threw her arms around the man’s neck.


So, he is ‘Daniel’ Harry assumed. The woman turned to Harry and said, ‘Sorry, it is all a big misunderstanding.’


‘Misunderstanding?’ Harry retorted, still rubbing his sore cheek.


‘That’s some blow, rather you than me,’ interjected Daniel.


Harry thought of the glare that Snape could muster and tried to emulate that glare at Daniel. It must have worked as the man’s expression began to look sheepish, and quickly took the woman's arm and melted back into his group.

Hermione gently tugged on Harry’s arm while saying in a loud voice, ‘Come along, Mick, we have more shopping to do and I don’t like celebrities, especially ones who attack innocent bystanders.’

Mick? Harry mentally asked.


Harry, that was Daniel Radcliffe—he plays you in those films. It was the first thing I could think of, responded Hermione, By the way, you handled that perfectly. She pulled Harry into a heated kiss, ignoring their surroundings.


The photographer watched the couple walk away after they finished kissing. He thought he had a story when the confrontation had started out but nothing had happened. However, the put down at the end that he had overheard made him smile. It was always nice to take down the big hotshot Hollywood stars. Radcliffe and crew vanished into the side streets; Danny's minders must want to get him as far away from the couple as possible. The resemblance was uncanny. He discussed the confrontation with his rivals and they all were unsure what to do. Libel laws were always getting tougher for the press and what they witnessed was a simple case of mistaken identity. It appeared that Danny's current bird was not confident enough she could hold onto him, maybe he was sleeping around. He made a note of the bird's reaction of her thought to Danny cheating on her, and cleared the camera’s memory and went to do his next job.


Harry and Hermione met up with Jim and relayed their encounter with the film star and Harry's reaction to being slapped. They went home to pack for their holiday. Harry hoped that their next date would go more smoothly. Everyone at the manor was impressed with the couples’ handling of the situation outside of the jewellers. The next day, they went to the Airport. Peter had organised their passports under the names of James Harry Porter and Jean Hermione Ranger. Peter explained that it was the least he could do after they had stopped the wizard whom had killed so many people. After arriving in Switzerland, Harry commented on the fact that he preferred to fly on a broom as he was in control.


Harry was disappointed to discover that he was sharing his holiday with Jim's family. He had hoped it was just himself and Hermione. Hermione loved the fact that Harry trusted her with the handsome ski instructor. Hermione was flattered by his interest, but she knew that she was in the early stages of a relationship, which could lead to be her future husband. She shared her memories and feelings with Harry to reassure him that he was the only man she wanted; she did this because of the trust he had shown.


Harry's response was that he did not want to have a jealous reaction like Ron would have had. He trusted Hermione with his heart, body, and soul, and that she would never intentionally harm him. They both were enjoying their winter break in Switzerland, and both were delighted that their training had proved helpful in mastering skiing. It also helped them to avoid any injuries. Hermione had researched skiing and was pensive before the holiday when she learnt that there was a good chance of injury while skiing. Hermione had enjoyed her first Valentine's date with Harry. It was a candlelit dinner in front of a roaring fire in their suite. After dinner, they enjoyed a passionate embrace before Harry reluctantly went to his room.


Harry was dreaming. He knew because he was lying on a golden beach; the waters lapping the shore were crystal clear, reflecting the bright blue sky. A beautiful goddess approached with a flowing mane of brown hair. Liquid brown eyes sparkled as Hermione gazed into Harry's eyes. Harry drank in the sight of her; she was wearing a grass dress and two seashells over her ample bosom. Her skin was lightly tanned. Harry groaned as she straddled him and he was sure she could feel his reaction to her. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a languid kiss, her hands drifting up into his hair. Harry's hands drifted up Hermione's legs to her perfect arse. Harry gasped as he discovered her bare bottom; he kneaded her cheeks and she moaned in pleasure. He groaned as she lifted his hand from her bum and put them on her shell covered breasts. He gently pulled them off with a pop. He stopped his kiss to view them. Reality dawned in his lust fogged brain—it is only a dream. He should wait for permission from Hermione; he was not some cad.


Hermione was remembering their heated embrace before Harry reluctantly left to his room. Hermione drifted off to sleep, dreaming of a smiling Harry. Her dreams changed to a beach, with Harry lying on a beach towel. Hermione understood that this was a shared dream; she had stumbled into many of Harry's nightmares and had always managed to pull him into her dreams, so that he would not be awakened by his nightly terror. She did not think that Harry realised that he shared dreams with her; he thought that he had tomake the connection and did not realise that it was possible to do it with little to no thought at all. With this knowledge, she set out to seduce her man safe in the knowledge that it was in a dreamscape. She was enjoying Harry's ministrations until Harry stopped after uncovering her breasts. She was touched at Harry's gentlemanly conduct but was a woman with a mission.


Harry was surprised when the dream Hermione made mental contact with him. He gasped when he realised that this was not how he imagined Hermione, but an accurate mental projection of her body, and that she was present for this dream as well. Harry sent all his love and appreciation of her and gasped when Hermione called his name many times while writhing above him. This caused his already hard member to harden much more. Harry slowly stroked Hermione's bare back as she came back down to earth.


Thank you, that was brilliant.


In response, Harry started to suckle on Hermione's left breast, all the while rubbing her belly. His hands slowly slipped south, between the grass dress and her wonderfully smooth skin. He found her pubic hair and gasped when he realised she wasn’t wearing any knickers. Harry did not know what to do; so, Hermione asked to try an experiment. Harry agreed mentally as his mouth was alternating between both breasts. Hermione tentatively took control of Harry's exploring hand. They thought it could be possible to control each other’s bodies, and this was the first time they had tried it. Hermione guided Harry's hand in how she brought herself to orgasm Harry swiftly learnt that being a bookworm meant that Hermione had even read books about sex and was fascinated by it, and had explored her body before the incident at the Ministry.


Harry kissed Hermione as he remembered the anguish that came from her injury, and her thoughts at the time that no man would touch her and her joy at how Harry had instinctively known how to go about the best way to help and reassure her. As Hermione relinquished control, Harry was confident in Hermione's instruction, but he also used his mental link to push Hermione to another mind blowing orgasm. Harry sighed; he wished that he could physically show his love for Hermione instead of this dreamscape. Hermione smiled as she took hold of Harry's penis. Harry valiantly tried to continue his ministrations on Hermione, but the wonderful thing she was doing was distracting him. Hermione slowly kissed down Harry's chest before she took Harry into her mouth. As she bobbed and sucked, Harry struggled to maintain control of his release.


Hermione, I'm coming.


Harry had the need to kiss Hermione and proceeded to stroke her sides as she lay on the beach towel. Harry wanted to return the favour, so he trailed kisses down her body. He paid special attention to her breasts. He kissed all around her nipple before gently suckling on the tit. He repeated this with her other breast. He continued down as far as her belly button and discovered that she was very ticklish when he licked her there. He skipped her groin and started again at her toes. He suckled her toes before slowly kissing up her long lovely legs. Hermione trembled in anticipation as he slowly kissed along her inner thigh.


Hermione was in heaven as Harry eventually found her nether lips and started to kiss them. She loved the fact that he was using their bond to read exactly what her body needed. He kissed, licked, and suckled her, bringing her to the brink many times but always backing off on the cusp of release. She needed release and sensing this, she gasped as he inserted a finger and hit her G-spot on her vaginal wall. She came hard as Harry slowly brought her down again after another wonderful orgasm. She did not care that it was only dreamscape; she needed to feel him inside her. She pushed Harry on to his back and was delighted to find him hard again. She straddled his waist and was amazed at how it was silken and yet as hard as a rock. She lined him up and slid down; she felt a barrier, pulled up slightly before plunging down.


Harry was amazed that Hermione wanted to go all the way. He felt the echo of her pain and it cleared his love fuddled brain. He knew from Jim that virgin women commonly had a hymen, which he had just breached, but this was just dreamscape right? Harry sent all his love along the bond and drew Hermione's pain into himself; it was much easier to bear than the pain inflicted by Riddle through his old scar. Harry was pulled out of his thoughts by Hermione's vaginal muscles massaging his member. He unconsciously thrust and felt Hermione's reaction to the link.


‘I, Harry, will love you, Hermione, for all eternity.’ All the while, he was gently pumping into Hermione.


‘I, Hermione, will love you, Harry, for all eternity.’


Harry lost himself into Hermione's brown orbs.


Jim woke up and looked at the clock: it read 01:30. Jim groaned, wondering what woke him when he felt a massive build up of magic. He rushed to Harry's room and was shocked to find Harry floating a foot above his bed with his body emitting a pink glow. He checked on Hermione and saw that she was in the exact same position. He felt that they were in no danger and none of the electrical equipments were damaged, so he went back to his room with the urge to make love to his wife.


Harry could feel the onset of his orgasm, so he bared his soul to Hermione. She did the same, all the while vowing to protect and care for the other. Harry came hard and passed out in bliss. He awoke to discover his bed soaked in sweat and semen, and the room smelled of his release. He was feeling hot and sticky, so he went and took a shower. Just as he was drying himself, he heard Hermione's panicked cry.


‘Harry.’


Hermione slowly woke up and was disappointed to be alone. She was shocked to discover her wet bedclothes. She threw them off herself and was shocked to discover blood mixed in with her cum. She reached for a glass of water and was shocked to discover a new band on her finger beside the Claddagh ring. The new ring appeared to be made of platinum, sliver, and gold woven together; when she examined it, she discovered that the band was smooth and showed no signs of ridges that should be their because of the weave. She carefully removed the ring and gasped at the feeling of loss. Inscribed was: ‘Harry and Hermione for all eternity 14/2/2009 R.W.’ The significance sank in along with the previously private parts of Harry's mind. Hermione was shocked to discover that she had magically married Harry and now she had shown Harry all of her private and intimate thoughts. I'm married to Harry. . . HARRY!


Harry appeared out of a ball of energy in front of Hermione, and blushed when he realised that she was naked and just came out of a refreshing shower.


‘Harry, we are married! What are we going to do?’


Harry pulled Hermione into a comforting embrace, hoping to calm her down; the proclamation of marriage had not filtered through yet. Hermione's mind worked out the dates and realised that Harry would turn seventeen in about four weeks and that she was due to turn eighteen in May of '09.


Harry, what are we going to do? How did this happen?


Harry knew this was just Hermione's panic; he could tell that she was actually delighted to be married to him, but she was scared of the unknown. She felt like she had let everyone down: her parents, Lisa, and Jim. Harry brought her to the large couch and made up a bed before putting her to bed, and he climbed in beside her. He held her in an embrace before falling asleep, thinking he would worry about it all tomorrow.


A/N: Please review.