Saving Her; Saving Us All

Author Note: Please note the age of consent both in my home state and in the UK, which covers London and Hogwarts (someone would have asked), is 16 years of age. Hermione Granger turned 16 on September 19th of the Golden trio's fifth year. Thank you and have a nice day.

My Dear Husband is a Poser Artist...a damn good one if I do say so myself. So he (under duress) created a Poser Cover art for my Lost Prophecy Story Saving Her; Saving Us All.

You can view it here: http:/mrsynnerster(dot)deviantart(dot)com/gallery/#/d30lozh

Hope you enjoy, and if you are over 18 feel free to view his other works.

AN: I had to do it. I've always wanted to see Arthur really stand up for himself. Plus I had to work in my theory on how such an annoying woman caught such a nice guy.

BTW: I'd like to thank all the people who have reviewed; you asked for a full on Bash Fest in this story and I think I can deliver that just fine.

~ Thoughts ~

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CHAPTER 5


Ramifications

*****Harry PoV*****

Harry ran down the stairs. He unerringly found Hermione. Had he nor know for a fact where she was, he could have found her by following the torrent of vile language – most of which he didn't know she knew – right to her. Entering the family parlor, harry looked around. Nothing environmental was causing the virulent curse-a-thon, so it must be something she found in the analyzing of the ritual. Maybe he should have actually read that instead of just memorizing his parts.

Shrugging off his contemplations, Harry made his way to his best friend and first lover. Harry took the offending book from her hands, pulled her up from her seat and into a hug. He pressed he lips to her plumper ones. A devilish thought made him lick her lower lip. When Hermione sighed, he slipped his tongue past her parted lips. Even as the tow young lovers lost themselves in the kiss, they could feel the thoughts of Fred and George. Sirius, Kingsley, and Severus were a comforting background presence. The three adults all knew occlumency and were better able to mask their actual thoughts from the teens.

Someone cleared their throat once, twice…finally Harry heard them and broke the kiss. Hermione blinked several times to clear her head, and she began to explain what had her so upset. However Harry was only half listening to her actual words. Instead he and the twins were trying to keep up with her thought process, but her mind just moved too fast. Harry forced himself out of the comfort of the bond and back into the conversation.

"According to the footnotes it is possible to use this counter to create a bond within the group. However the bond it creates is supposed to be temporary. A bond that shares magic for one purpose. It sends the magic out in buffeting waves, and when the job is done, the waves pull back into the casters. Remus said that it did work like that. When they returned and awakened us, the bond should have dissolved. But I can still tell you things I shouldn't know. Oh like Arthur, did you know that the twins can't really tell you who is Fred and who is George half the time either? I can tell you that hell is officially freezing over cause Professor Snape and Sirius are agreeing on something. Can't tell you what…but whatever it is they are really happy about it. And Kingsley is involved somehow."

Harry looked up as Fred and George joined them. The twins seemed a bit subdued and only gave Hermione simple kisses on her cheeks.

Hermione smiled at the twins. She gave them a bit of a weird look but turned to Remus with a question instead. "How is this possible? I thought the conditions needed to form a permanent bond of this nature were, well impossible?"

Matilda joined the conversation. "Professor McGonagall told us that it was a matter of power. That the people in the bond have to all have enough power to solidify the bond." Harry was struck once again with how much Matilda reminded him of her daughter. So very similar, just a bit taller with darker smoother curls, and almost as beautiful.

Snapping his fingers, Remus stood and began to pace. Everyone could see him talking to himself. Finally he started to speak, "that information about the bond is correct but it is incorrect as to the situation. Hermione entered Hogwarts at a round an 89 on the Emyrs scale. That is a scale that measures the strength of a person's magical core. Other than Harry, that was the strongest figure of her year. But you have to remember the children are measured when they enter Hogwarts, and supposedly that number is set. Yet magical theory tells us that full magical maturity is not reached until around the end of actual puberty. So given that Hermione could be well over 100 by now, add in that we have no idea how much magical growth that curse caused. Supposedly you have to reach a 120 on the scale to be able to form a permanent bond other than the soul bond. Now I know for a fact that Harry was there by the end of his third year. Sirius was weak after Azkaban, but the Veil undid all the damage the prison and the dementors caused. Severus would have to be beyond that simply because it is almost impossible to master legilimency at a level where you can read without tells. I didn't look up Fred or George's level, because they were not as close to Harry as they became during his fourth year. But I'm willing to bet they have crossed the threshold as well."

Remus tapped his head, as if dislodging a thought. "I read a theory, by Socrates, that said that while power level was a indicator, what really mattered was the compatibility of the magic. There also needs to be a certain level of emotional connection."

"If that is the case then I'm still not clear on how it is working. I mean you can use that to explain the permanent bond between Harry and Hermione; you might even be able to add Forge into that and it's not that much of a stretch to include me. But Snape and Sirius shouldn't be able to connect." George joined the theoretical Discussion.

Fred looked at his twin, mischief dancing in his eyes, "unless all that hatred was the sublimation of feelings that two young boys from very bigoted backgrounds couldn't deal with." Fred hypothesized.

"That's like saying Ron is secretly in love with Malfoy." Harry scoffed.

"Actually I believe that Mr. Malfoy is fixated sexually on you Mr. Potter." Severus said as he entered the room. He had kept himself apprised of the conversation as he made his way back to Grimmauld place. He actually filed the Weasley twin's hypothesis away to analyze later. "Mr. Weasley is simply an arse. Molly and Arthur could care less what his sexuality is, while Lucius would imperio Draco until he had begat an heir. Even if the boy were no longer capable of independent thought thereafter."

Harry was shocked when Snape crossed the room and drew Hermione into a, well to call it a kiss would be a vast understatement. Harry became aware of a rather comfortable uncomfortable feeling. Watching Snape devour Hermione's mouth was almost as arousing as doing so himself. He could feel their arousal, and he could also feel Snape's disbelief at his own lack of restraint. As the couple moved away from each other Harry sent a thought at his formerly hated Professor. ~Don't feel bad sir. Finally being able to do that after wanting her for so long, and worrying about her these last few weeks; well who can blame us.~ Snape's nod acknowledged his appreciation of Harry's understanding.

"How many more times am I going to have to see my sixteen year old daughter get her uvula cleaned like that…right in front of me?" Gerard protested.

"At least once," George said cheekily.

"Probably twice though," Fred agreed.

"I'm surprised at your decorum." Arthur said to his sons.

"Yeah well we're surprised that Mum wasn't here yelling at us." George rejoined.

Minerva McGonagall couldn't hide the glee in her voice as she explained, "your mother is currently tied to a chair in the library. Dobby took offense to her attempt to interfere with the ritual." McGonagall hid a smile. "As our magic would not allow us to release her, we finally silenced her. She was bringing down our joy at the success of the ritual. Now then, other than Severus's newly found lack of self-control what other changes had the bonding wrought?"

Harry watched as Snape, without another word, began to unbutton his left sleeve. Upon showing his former teacher his now completely bare forearm, McGonagall almost fainted. She grabbed Snape and pulled him into a hug like he was still an ickle Firstie.

"Oh Severus, I'm so glad for you. Now Albus will no longer be able to send you to be tortured by that madman." Arthur exclaimed. "Something must be done about him, and I am not referring to Voldemort this time."

Harry was shocked. He would have sworn Arthur would have blindly backed Dumbledore in anything. But when the red head patriarch finished detailing all he had found out, Harry fully began to understand how far back the Headmaster's duplicity reached.

"I'm sure Moody would rip me a new one for being so careless. I should have taken the time to feel out where each of you stood in regards to your feelings about Albus, but I simply couldn't keep silent anymore. Harry, I want you to have Sirius take you to Gringotts as soon as they open tomorrow. If Dumbledore managed to that my family from comfortable country gentry to church mice in two generations of an active family; I shudder to think what he has been up to since your parents were killed."

Harry began to reassure his primary father figure, when his godfather spoke from behind him. "Don't worry Arthur we've taken care of it. I'm glad that Harry has another who cares so much about him." Sirius, true to the twins' prediction, crossed immediately to Hermione. The dark Marauder pulled the petite witch into a searing kiss, which left all of the bond members teasingly aroused. He then turned to Matilda, and bowed low over her hand. Looking around Sirius asked the room at large, "where is Ron? I know he acted a right berk today, but I would have thought he'd be here to welcome Hermione back to the world of the living."

*****Where in the World is…Ron Weasley*****

Ronald Weasley had been having a very bad day. First he found out that 'his girl' was going to be the center of a gangbang. Then his best friend yelled at him. And his brothers didn't even back him up. Instead they dragged him off and lectured him for hours. "Women aren't possessions." "You can't claim to love her when you usually don't even seem to like her." Blah blah bloody blah. And then they gave him donkey ears and a tail just because he said that it wasn't fair that everyone was getting a piece of 'his girl' except him.

Son now he was sitting outside, near the Burrow's wards on "guard duty", cause Bill and Charlie refused to let him go back to Grimmauld Place. Something about 'not letting his selfishness wreck the ritual.' Ron still didn't understand why everyone insisted on calling it a ritual. Seemed like an orgy to him. The Redhead was still grousing to himself when a tap on his shoulder startled him. Tightening his grip on his wand, Ron spun around.

Luna stood there simple looking at Ron. The ethereal blonde didn't even seem to notice the wand pointed at her. "I'm surprised you are not helping Hermione," Luna commented in her usual dreamy tone. She gave the impression that the ears and tail Ron bore were absolutely normal.

"I wasn't allowed. Just because I didn't want to take a dip in everyone else's joy juice; they all called me selfish. Said I didn't love her. Bah, she' my girl isn't she?"

"No, Ronald, She is not." Luna admonished calmly.

"What are you talking about? I've liked her since third year, haven't I. She is supposed to be mine." Ron shouted.

"Have you ever told her how you felt about her? Have you ever asked her how she feels about you?" Luna asked an unusual amount of strength behind her words. "Ronald, you have berated and belittled almost everything she has ever taken an interest in. She in turn dislikes most of the things you enjoy. The two of you have some very fundamental differences. If someone had treated Ginny the way you treat Hermione and the claimed to love her…you'd beat the stuffing out of them on a daily basis."

"But, but…" Ron tried to formulate a defense. "I saved her from that troll in first year."

"Ronald, even I know that you were the reason she was in danger in the first place. Do you really think that what you feel for her is the same type of love that creates a lasting bond? Why do you want her? Do you want her for Hermione, the annoyingly literal, scarily smart, fiercely protective, slightly naggy know-it-all; or is it the win you are after. The notoriety of being with the brightest witch of the age? Perhaps you have a wrackspurt infestation. That is the only reason I can see for you constantly mistaking platonic affection for romantic love." With that Luna withdrew from the conversation and went back home, leaving Ron with much to think about.

*****To Be the Man, You Have to Be a Manipulative Ass Hat*****

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore was many things. He was a man with too many names, too many titles, and at this moment too much anger. He was pacing his office at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in a huff. He had no clue what was going on and he hated that. He didn't know what that wave of magic that he had felt earlier was, nor where it had come from, nor what its purpose was. All he did know about it was that it had destroyed all of his very important instruments. The Instrument that he used to monitor the Wards at number 4 Privet Drive, the instrument that he used to maintain the violence, anger, and jealousy spells on Severus Snape, and the instrument he used to maintain his influence on the two youngest Weasley children were all melted into silver and gold puddles. And worst of all; that blasted wave had severed the unnatural, highly illegal tether with which he controlled Fawkes.

The angry Headmaster looked over at the missive he had received from his contact at Gringotts; apparently Sirius had decided that it was time for young Harry to take up his title. The contact was unable to tell him anymore about the meeting since the few goblins that were in on it weren't discussing the occurrences therein with anyone. At this moment all Albus could do was hope that this change would not disturb hid plans too much. Though honestly Harry stepping into his title early did restrain the actions Dumbledore could take to ensure that the boy ended up with Ginny Weasley.

If only that Parkinson girl had not curses the Granger chit. How could one little Curse cause such an upheaval. No, Dumbledore realized the upheaval began earlier, with the reemergence of Sirius Black from the Veil. Who would have thought Black of all people would be completely innocently. Oh he knew and had known all along that Pettigrew was the Potter's secret keeper. But one would have thought that coming from such a dark family, Sirius would have had at least a skeleton or two in his proverbial closet.

Albus congratulated himself on keeping word of Sirius's return and release out of Hogwarts. If only he could have found a way to keep Black out of the way permanently. At least that compulsion should still be in place on Severus. Forcing those two to interact should provide a bit of distraction, and frustration for Sirius.

Dumbledore threw himself into planning. He was certain that another week or two of worry and despair would cause the Grangers to either remove their daughter from the wizarding world all together, or at the very least transfer her to France for further medical treatment as the St. Mungo's staff was trying to convince them to do. That would serve to isolate the boy even further. And with Granger out of the way, Potter's main source of intellect would be gone. By this time next year Ginny Weasley would have ensnared the boy and hopefully be carrying his brat.

Then it would be a simple matter to point the boy at Voldemort, claim that the Dark Lord was after the child for some reason. A vision would not work after the trap at the Ministry. Perhaps the news could come by way of his spy in the Deatheaters.

~Yes,~ Albus thought, ~the pieces may change; but Albus Dumbledore was still in complete control of the board.~

*****Sorry Daddy, But I'm Keeping My Husbands*****

The group was dissecting the ritual to see what might have changed. When Kingsley arrived, he too pulled Hermione into a distinctly arousing kiss. Minerva took the time afforded to her by the distraction to contact Poppy. After extracting an oath, not to discuss anything she learned tonight with anyone present in the room, from the matron, Poppy examined each of the ritual's participants.

"They are definitely bonded; the charm reads it as a Tarquitius Bond. But that's not possible. That bond hasn't been seen since Rome 1573 BC and that was only a gold level Tarquitius. This bond surpasses that; Platinum, if not diamond level." Poppy looked around the room. She directed her comment at the person most likely to have objections. "Dr. Granger, that level of bond is going to need more reaffirmation for the next three to six months. Until it fully matures and stabilizes, it will cause the bondmates to seek reestablishment of some form every few hours, and only with nightly congress will they be able to separate for their day to day lives. Good news is that by Christmas all seven of them will be able to go 12 to 16 hours without direct physical contact. Bad news is there will never a point where they can separate for an entire 24 hour period."

"You can all notice that the bond is starting to signal the desire for reaffirmation already. Look. Sirius and Severus, not only are they sitting side by side; they are touching from time to time. The twins' natural bond is supplementing the new bond but note how Kingsley and Harry are cosseting Hermione. Now some of that is relief that she has recovered, but the larger part is the reaffirmation of the bond." Poppy performed a few more scans. A dark look came over her face, "Severus, come here please." The matron did a series of complex diagnostics. "There is a trace of the resent breaking of several dark spells. I'd assumed it was from the dark mark but the concentrations show not only over your forearm, but over your head as well. What mental and psychological or emotional changes have you noticed? All of them, not just the ones you feel are relevant."

Severus thought for a moment. "I no longer have the same emotional reactions to the mutt of the wolf. To the point where I can honestly say that those terms are simply nicknames and not epithets. Nor do I have the same unreasonable hatred for Mr. Potter. I can now say with all honesty that while I still find the bulk of the Weasleys annoying chipper, there is no longer the burning need to quit their presence at the first opportunity. I find myself appalled at the memories of my treatment of Mr. Longbottom and Miss Granger." Severus attempted to keep his voice matter of fact; but all could hear sadness and confusion. "And while my occlumency shields still seem impermeable, I am having trouble containing my emotions."

"You've always had trouble containing your emotions, they were just usually negative." Remus said with a smile.

Gerard exchanged a look with his wife, Hermione had only spoke of Snape in positive terms. "That sounds strange," he said calmly, "while the bond could and probably should effect his relationship with Sirius and the other bond mates, there is no reason it would affect the relationships outside the bond." Gerard and Matilda might not be magical, but much like their daughter, they excelled at analytical thinking. He gave Snape assessing look. "I've heard enough about your treatment of Harry and Neville; but what's this about your treatment of Hermione?"

Snape took a deep breath and outlined his ill-behavior, giving a few specific examples. After he told of the incident with the tooth enlarging spell; Gerard crossed the room and with all the rage of a father who has been forced to feel unable to protect his child, drew back and with all the strength in his almost 2 meter tall frame; he punched Severus Snape in his exceedingly large nose.

Snape hit the floor hard, clutching his face. He could tell from past experience that the nose was broken, so he allowed Poppy to set it and evanesco the blood. "I'll admit that I deserved that." Severus tried to joke after Poppy healed him. "I guess that answers that question."

"What question?" Sirius queried as he touched his own nose. He and the other bond mates were all doing so, though clearly none of them were experiencing the full brunt of Snape's pain; they each felt an echo.

"Two questions actually. The first is how physical sensation is dealt with by the bond. The primary sufferer of the sensation receives the entire sensation while all others simply feel an impression." The other bondmates nodded in agreement with that assessment. "The other question goes back to your godson's third year. Draco Malfoy came to me with a broken nose, and some story about how it was all Mr. Potter's fault. Yet at the start of his tale he began to say something that started with a m not an s. Having now experienced a Granger Punch, I firmly believe that Hermione was the one to punch the brat."

One look at the young woman in question was enough to confirm his hypothesis. Almost everyone in the room chuckled at the look on Hermione's face. She was blushing to beat the band.

For some reason Harry was feeling aroused, but it was barely a pulse. Looking deeply, he realized that the feeling actually was coming from Kingsley. Harry looked around the room. He chose his next words carefully. "So, Madam Pomfrey, what you are saying is that the bond is permanent. And we'll have to sleep and live together for the rest of our lives?" There was not a heart in the room that was untouched by the note of hopeful longing in his tone.

"Yes, Lord Potter that is exactly what I am saying." Poppy answered with a smile.

"Ok then I call dibs on House Husband." At the curious looks on all the faces in the room, Harry explained, "Hermione has way too bright a future to turn her into Molly - No offense Mr. Weasley - Severus is a potion master, crafter and teacher. Sirius was an auror and Kingsley still is. Fred and George are going to open their Joke Shop. Now if I understand correctly, we have 3 to four lines that need heirs, only one line can be passed to a girl. Hermione is never going to give the 4 of us children and not Gred and Forge; plus with Weasley luck. Well u get where I'm going with that thought. I can't have the babies, but I can take care of them. And thanks to the Dursleys I can cook and clean and decorate like Martha Stewart. So if Hermione will have the babies, we'll all love them and I'll be the stay at home parent." He saw Hermione start to object. "Mione if there were some way for a man to get pregnant I'd carry them too…"

"Well actually Harry…"


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