Inside the Blackest Heart (Edit, Not Update)

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to JKR. All situations are mine. No $$$ is being made from this fanfic.
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Chapter 22 ~ Inside the Room of Requirement

Hermione and Harry stood before the closed door of the Room of Requirement.

“What do you supposed the room will provide us with, Harry?” Hermione asked, hesitant about pushing open the door.

Harry shrugged.

“I don’t know, Hermione. But it will be what you need. Come on,” he said, taking her cold, clammy hand and pushing the door open.

For the first time in either Harry or Hermione’s remembrance, the room of requirement was almost completely empty. There was one comfortable armchair and that was it.

Hermione’s brow furrowed as she looked around.

“It’s not giving me anything,” she said, turning to Harry. “There’s nothing in here I can use.”

Harry looked at the comfortable armchair, then at his friend. His mouth quirked a little.

“I think that chair’s for me,” he said, and he sat down looking up at her. “I think the room is trying to tell you that you already have all you need.”

Hermione wasn’t sure about this, but she shrugged her backpack off her shoulder and put it down on the ground. She looked at Harry.

“Go on, Hermione. Try to make something happen,” he said.

“Something like what?” she asked him

“Try to make the room shake,” he said.

Hermione stood in the center of the room. She imagined the room shaking. Nothing happened.

She looked at Harry.

“Nothing happened,” she said.

Harry considered her.

“Maybe you need to throw your arms out. Use them like a wand to focus the power,” Harry said, looking at the limbs in question.

Hermione tried that. She thought she felt a little shudder.

“Did you feel that Harry?” she asked him excitedly.

Harry looked at her.

“No, I didn’t feel anything,” he responded. “Try again.”

Hermione did. This time she definitely felt a shudder.

“Now I know I felt that, Harry. There was a shudder,” she said.

Harry frowned.

“I didn’t feel a thing, Hermione. Maybe you’re shuddering because you are trying so hard,” he replied. Hermione scowled at him.

“I know what I felt, Harry,” she said a little sharply.

Harry scowled at her.

“I’m telling you Hermione, nothing shuddered in this room. You’re imagining it because you want it to happen so badly,” he said.

Hermione looked at Harry darkly. Then suddenly Harry was launched into the air, limbs sprawled every which way, to land several feet away on a large mattress that materialized under him just before he hit the hard stone floor. He would have definitely broken something.

Hermione gasped, covering her mouth with her hands before running over to the surprised and somewhat dazed wizard.

“I’m SO sorry Harry,” she said, kneeling down and helping him to a sitting position. He looked up at her and grinned.

“Well, at least you acknowledge that you did this. There’s no other explanation, is there?” he said smiling at her. “Now, what happened before I flew out of the chair? To you, I mean”

Hermione looked at him consideringly as he rose from the mattress and stood in front of her, brushing himself off.

“Well, I was a little angry at you because you were sitting there all smug in the comfortable chair, telling me I wasn’t experiencing what I was experiencing when I knew I was, and suddenly you went flying,” she said.

They both looked at each other in realization.

“Emotion triggers the power,” Hermione said, “ Can’t do anything consciously yet, but if I feel strongly about something, the magic reacts to it. It’s like crawling before walking, Harry.”

“Yes, but what a way to crawl. You got really mad at Ron and look what you did to him. I’m glad you are developing powers, Hermione, but you have a terrible temper. There’s no telling what mayhem your emotions will cause,” he said, looking at Hermione with a worried look.

Hermione looked thoughtful.

“I bet when I am able to control my reactions, I will be able to consciously control the power. Maybe this is the way a Primordial is prepared to use such a power. When I can feel an emotion without triggering a magical reaction, I might be able to consciously use it. Right now, I am physically mature, so the power is manifesting, but I’m not yet emotional mature enough,” she said musingly. She looked at Harry.

“Harry, I don’t need to practice magic. I need to practice controlling my reactions, and my emotions. I have to get into situations where my patience and tolerance is tested, and keep the Primordial powers from manifesting. If I can subdue them, then I can control them!” she said happily.

“Now who do you know that brings out a lot of negative emotions in you?” Harry asked grinning.

“Ron,’ she said without hesitation.

“Yes, he’s one. But there’s someone else who’s been pissing you off for years,” he said, his grin becoming a bit evil.

Hermione’s eyes widened.

“Oh Harry, you can’t mean…” she gasped.

The wizard nodded his head. The look on his face was indescribable.

“Snape,” he said, “Snape drives you bananas. If you can keep from flinging him around a room, you’ll have loads of control. Plus, he already knows about your developing powers.”

“But Harry, he’ll never agree to help me,” she said, “especially if it requires him to be the target of my magical tantrums.”

Harry considered this. She was right of course. Snape would never consent to being tossed around or whatever other way Hermione’s power manifested. Even though the part of aggravating and tormenting her would probably appeal to him greatly. He already did that anyway. To be able to pick at her at will…he might really find that aspect enjoyable.

“I still think you should ask him. Maybe you need to tell Dumbledore too, Hermione,” Harry said.

“No!” said Hermione. “I don’t want to tell him, Harry. Then he’ll lock down on me again for sure. Not let me go home for Christmas or for the year. He’ll want me to focus all my energy on this power for the Order. I might be a Primordial, but I still want to be able to move about freely. You see how he treats you,” she said, her eyebrows furled. “I’m not telling him anything.”

“How do you know Snape won’t tell him?” Harry asked.

Hermione shrugged. “Maybe he will. But I can ask him not to. Hopefully he won’t have said anything about it yet. Snape came looking for me, not Dumbledore. So there’s a chance he won’t tell, at least not until he talks to me.”

Harry nodded.

“Well, I still say Snape would be your best choice for practicing control. You’ve been getting mad at Ron for ages. He can set you off with three words. You can start out with Snape then work your way up to Ron,” Harry said.

Hermione looked doubtful.

“Well since you are going to ask him not to tell Dumbledore, you can ask him that too. All he can say is no, and probably take points from Gryffindor for you have the audacity to ask him if you could bounce him around the castle. Gods, I would love to see that though,” Harry said, looking wistful.

Hermione laughed at the look on the wizard’s face.

“Yes, it is kind of appealing, isn’t it?” Hermione grinned at him. She picked up her knapsack.

“Well, we can’t do anything more here, and I’m getting kind of hungry. What’s say we head down to supper?” she asked.

“Sorry Mione, I have Quidditch practice. Training some beaters. I was going to grab something from the kitchens later,” he said apologetically.

“That’s all right, Harry. You’ve been a great help to me today. Thank you,” she said, kissing him on the cheek. Harry blushed.

“Well, at least I got a chance to finally help you out,” he responded, “Merlin knows you’ve pulled my bum out of the fire more than once,”

“Friends don’t keep count on what they do for each other, Harry. They just have to be there and do what they can when they can,” she said, taking his arm and heading out of the room of requirement.

“Do you think we should tell Ron about my being a Primordial?” Hermione asked.

“Maybe we should. Otherwise he’ll be aggravating you every time he sees you about the polish and the donut and probably the ass’s head,” Harry said. “I’ll take care of that. I think if you try to talk to him right now, he’ll end up flat on his back someplace.”

Hermione gave a small smile. Harry was right. Ron would definitely set her off.

They walked down the staircases to the main hall, arm in arm. They stopped.

“Well, I got to go, Mione,” Harry said, releasing the witch’s arm. “Quidditch calls.”

“Yes, the call of the wild,” Hermione replied grinning. She kissed his cheek again.

“I’m glad you’re in my life, Harry,” she said softly.

“Me too, Mione,” he replied, his green eyes meeting her amber ones with affection. “I’ll catch you in the common room later.”

“All right,” Hermione said as he walked away, waving. Hermione watched him until he exited the main hall, then turned and headed for the Great Hall. She was famished and she wanted to see if the Professor was back from his visitation with the Dark Lord.

She thought about what she had learned today.

She was a Primordial. That would make her more powerful than any other witch or wizard in existence. She could stop the war and get her own life back. She could live like she wanted.

Once she came into full power, no one could ever tell her what to do again.

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A/N: Hmm. Interesting chapter. Please review.