Touching the Untouchable

Author’s note: Many apologies for the day’s delay between chapters! The characters weren’t as talkative for this chapter as they had been in the past; except for Hermione, of course. I also went back and added a new paragraph into Chapter 6 regarding Dumbledore's feelings and hunches about Harry after the war...the paragraph on Dumbledore's opinion of the Gryffindor parties, for those who want to go back and re-read.
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Touching the Untouchable by Graballz Chapter 7 Guardianship


Poppy Pomfrey gripped the edge of her desk as a slight tremor shook the castle and spilled some of her overflowing paperwork all over the floor. Ron and Hermione rushed in a second later, followed by Albus. They all wore twin expressions of “what the fuck”. Poppy pushed back from her desk, and with a comforting pat to Hermione’s hand, hurried past the Headmaster to check on her fragile patient. Minerva didn’t seem disturbed in the least, and Poppy seemed hopeful that the woman’s breathing had eased even slightly.

Albus had stood with Ron and Hermione, talking to them softly, when suddenly several Hufflepuffs exploded through the door. Quidditch injury, several of them. The three Gryffindors flattened themselves against the wall, trying to stay out from underfoot, as the Hospital Wing sprung to life with upset students. Madam Pomfrey calmly stepped out of Minerva’s room, locking it carefully and reverse-spelling it for silence so that the noise outside wouldn’t carry through the walls, but they would hear if there was a sound from within. With the training long borne of practice, Madam Pomfrey directed the injured students to one room, the upset friends to another, and shooed Ron, Hermione, and Albus out, assuring them that she would call for them upon the slightest change in Professor McGonagall’s condition, but with a firm admonition that she needed her rooms back.

* * * * * *

So far, Albus had been quite unsuccessful in finding the underlying reason for the awkwardness between Ron, Hermione, and Harry. He didn’t really expect to be told everything in the hospital, and so when Poppy kicked them out, he requested that Ron and Hermione accompany him back to his office, where they could chat in relative peace. He also made a promise of sweets to ‘soothe the mess’ with such a twinkle in his eye that even an emotionally raw Hermione couldn’t refuse. As they walked towards the Headmaster’s office, Severus Snape intercepted them. Ron and Hermione eyed him suspiciously, but Albus merely excused himself to have a whispered conversation with his old friend.

“Albus, you’re not taking those two to your office, are you?” Snape looked even gruffer than usual, which Albus knew to mean that something had happened to rattle him.

“That was my plan. The two of them need badly to talk about what’s happened; and I need to know so that I can figure out what to do about everything. We must get this sorted out and soon,” Albus replied. He accepted the crumpled piece of parchment that Severus held out to him, his eyes growing wide with fear.

Snape—Emergency. Dumbledore’s office. Bring Blood-Replenishers…lots. Harry tried to kill himself. HURRY!—Draco

“Sweet Merlin-” Albus began, but the Potions Master cut him off.

“He’s fine, no thanks to Merlin. Transfigured your letter opener into a knife and slashed his wrist. Just when you think they don’t know a damn thing and that they don’t listen in class…anyway, Draco had cast several Healing Charms already, and it was just a matter of replacing the blood that leaked out his arm in the meantime. But they’re in your office, which is why I don’t recommend you take Weasley and Granger up there at the moment,” Snape recalled seeing the bloody letter opener under the desk; he had watched it shape-shift back to its real form while they waited for Potter to come around; and he had tried not to look at his Slytherin godson fawning all over the barely conscious Gryffindor like a first-year Hufflepuff under the influence of Amortentia, the most powerful love potion, and roughly the ONLY potion that Snape disapproved of making. “I left orders with Draco that Potter wasn’t to be left alone, but I wasn’t sure if those two were still in the Hospital Wing; otherwise I would have ordered an immediate transferal.”

Albus was musing carefully, trying to put together everything that Severus was telling him. He was terribly concerned about Harry, but at the same time, happy that he and Malfoy might have finally put their grudge aside for good. He knew the dangers of allowing the Trio to see one another again; he didn’t want to risk another one of Ron’s outbursts or cause Hermione to have another breakdown. Albus made a quick decision.

“Severus, I have a favor to ask of you. Please return to my office and escort Misters Potter and Malfoy out. The favor is this: would you, just this once, allow Harry to accompany Draco to Slytherin’s dorms? I would not ask if it were not under the direst of circumstances, and you said so yourself that Harry shouldn’t be alone. I have gathered enough information to ascertain that Gryffindor’s dorms do not hold happy memories at this point, and I am reluctant to send another patient to Poppy, unless he needs to go. It seems as though Draco, with your help, has the situation well under control, and I would imagine that what Harry needs most right now is rest. If you are disinclined to allow Harry into Slytherin, perhaps the Invisibility Cloak could be fetched, if you are worried about the propriety?” Albus looked at his long-time friend, knowing that he would acquiesce due to the severity of it all, but still, etiquette was etiquette, even if it was just a formality. Snape waved his hand dismissively.

“Whatever you think is best, Headmaster. You know that I trust your judgment, but I do admit that I am loathe to just allow Potter free access to Slytherin,” Severus stopped speaking when Albus held up his hand.

“Say no more, I understand,” Albus Dumbledore turned to Ron, calling him over. With a hasty kiss to Hermione’s forehead, Ron walked over, unsure of why he would be called upon. “Ron, I know that this is not the best of times for such a request, but it is very important. Would you be able to retrieve the Invisibility Cloak with ease, my boy?”

* * * * * *

Ron was caught off-guard. How the hell had Dumbledore known Ron had the Invisibility Cloak? The man was uncanny! He flushed slightly, nervously shifting from foot to foot.

“I can, yes. Why do you need it?”

“Just leave that matter to me; I will be able to explain it to you at a later time, but right now, if you could recover it post-haste, we will be waiting right here. Do not worry, I will, of course, look after Ms. Granger,” Albus soothed Ron’s worried look. Ron nodded and took off for Gryffindor. He exchanged another glance with Severus, who then walked back towards the office. Albus went up to Hermione, whose color had begun to return to normal, though he had a sneaking suspicion that she wasn’t as strong as she initially appeared. He had a grain of a plan in mind, though, that he hoped would help her bounce back from whatever trauma had occurred.

“Ms. Granger, I know that some disturbing and unexpected things have happened this weekend. Now, I know that right this second is neither the time nor the place to have a discussion about said things, but there is one thing I would like to call your attention to while Mr. Weasley is otherwise engaged,” Albus began. Hermione looked up at him, wariness mixed with interest in her brown eyes. “You are undoubtedly the highest achieved student in this school, academia-wise, and you have always received exceptional marks in your classes, including Transfigurations. I do not know if you are aware of this, but fifty years ago, I myself held Minerva McGonagall’s position as the Transfigurations professor. It is your seventh year, and while I do not wish to add any more stress upon your class load, the details of which we can work out later, but I wonder if you would be interested in taking over the lower level Transfigurations classes until Professor McGonagall is ready and able to teach again? I realize that this would severely limit your own seventh year studies, and if you do not wish to, I will resume her classes myself. We can absolutely work a little bit of magic with the schedule so that you would still be able to attend some of your own classes, and I will handle the advanced levels of Transfigurations, anyway. However, if you would be so inclined as to help me out, I do believe you would make a most remarkable Beginning Transfigurations instructor.”

Hermione stared at the Headmaster in shock, trying to process the information. Teach?? HER?? Her own classroom…her own students…The rational part of Hermione’s brain interrupted her daydream, questioning her ability to teach, keep up with her classes, etc. Dumbledore’s eyes grew more twinkly as he watched the variety of emotions play out over her face; a sure sign of Gryffindor. But then Hermione came back to herself; and her decision was made. There would be no question about it.

“I’ll do it,” she stated firmly, a little bit of her old spark coming back. Dumbledore broke into a wide grin and offered his hand to her.

“Brilliant, Ms. Granger; oh, excuse me, Professor Granger. This is an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I can’t think of a better student who deserves this more,” he confided, winking at her. His grin was infectious, and by the time Ron returned, puffing slightly with the Invisibility Cloak in hand, Hermione was grinning ear to ear as well. Dumbledore took the Cloak and asked them to wait in the hall a moment until he returned. They were only too happy to oblige, since Hermione had big news to share.

* * * * * *

Severus returned to the office, hoping that he wouldn’t find a scene to give him nightmares, whether it would be because Potter had tried something again or because the two seventh-years couldn’t keep their eyes off each other. Not surprisingly, the two of them hadn’t moved, except that it appeared Potter had passed out again, still in his godson’s arms.

Draco had spelled the room clean again, and the professor sat carefully in the desk chair to explain the situation. Draco’s face darkened when he heard that Ron and Hermione were on their way, and his arms tightened protectively around Harry for a second, but he quickly relaxed again when Severus told him that the Invisibility Cloak was being delivered, and that they would use it to go back to Slytherin. He inquired as to whether Draco knew why Weasley had run Potter out of the Great Hall and then punched his own Head of House. Draco nodded sagely, hesitant at first, but in the end, he explained the basics: Harry had been drunk and made an advance on Hermione; (Draco purposefully made it sound less than it was; Snape might have been his godfather, Head of House, and favorite professor, but he was under no illusions about how Harry and Snape felt about each other, and he wasn’t about to add any more fuel to that particular fire) Ron found out about it and went barmy, which was close enough to true; and that he had found Harry puking in the hallway from the alcohol and had taken pity on the first time drinker. He conveniently left out their morning snog session and edited their earlier conversation, telling Severus that Harry was overwhelmed with distress at his actions last night, and that was the reason he tried to kill himself; it was true enough that Severus would buy it. Draco didn’t see any reason to divulge their private conversation about being each others’ soul mates. His godfather would just puke, anyway.

Severus sat and listened with a pained expression on his face. He made sure Draco understood that Potter was NOT to have any leeway in Slytherin, and that the Potions professor would hold Draco personally responsible for any shenanigans. Draco nodded earnestly, looking more Gryffindorish than Severus would have thought possible, and that was when he knew for sure that all hope was lost. His godson and star pupil, the new Lord Malfoy, had utterly and completely lost his mind, all over Harry Potter. He shook his head and wished Draco better luck with the younger Potter than Snape had had with the boy’s father, his lip curling in distaste the entire time.

* * * * * *

It seemed like forever before Dumbledore showed up with the Invisibility Cloak, and Snape was glad to be gone as soon as possible. Rather than wake Harry, Draco picked the sleeping boy up gently, and Dumbledore slid the Cloak around the both of them. After making absolutely certain that her master was okay again, Hedwig had retreated back to the empty perch on the other side of the room, silently observing the admissions of love between the two boys. Once her master had fallen asleep again, with a final glace at Draco, Hedwig had taken to flight and returned to the Owlery, where she was looking forward to a long nap for the rest of the day. Draco could have sworn that the owl had reflected her approval of him with Harry, and as she flew out of the office, Draco thought he was surely going crazy if he thought the owl might have winked at him!

The blonde Slytherin carried his sleeping love back to his room, taking care to avoid bumping into anyone or anything under the Invisibility Cloak. He laid Harry gently on the bed, brushing a tender hand over the strong chest as it rose and fell. As strong as Harry proclaimed to be on the outside, he appeared more youthful and the absolute picture of innocence while asleep. It made Draco’s Slytherin heart twist just to watch him, and he kicked off his shoes. Harry had the right idea, and Draco laid down next to him, pulling him into the embrace that had worked so well for them just that morning: Draco on his back with Harry’s shoulder tucked neatly under one arm, head on Draco’s chest and his newly healed arm carefully placed on Draco’s stomach to avoid crushing it. He made a mental note to ensure that Harry ate something when they woke up; he hadn’t eaten anything all day, coupled with the stress of regaining his memories, and Draco couldn’t blame him for being as overwhelmed as he was. He leaned his cheek against Harry’s head and sighed, drifting off into yet another blissful snooze.

* * * * * *

Ron was giving Hermione a congratulatory kiss when Dumbledore retrieved them from the hallway, citing an apology for the delay in arriving at his office. Chairs were conjured for the two of them as they sat across the desk from their Headmaster who was one of them; now would be the hard part.

The red-head reached over and took his girlfriend’s hand, squeezing it comfortingly. Dumbledore looked at them expectantly and told them that he wanted to hear each of their stories, in entirety, but one at a time. Ron jumped right in, trying to spare Hermione the stress of reliving it all, yet again.

“Potter,” Ron began, jaw tightening angrily every time he had to mention that odious name, still stalwartly refusing to acknowledge the boy’s first name. “Potter and ‘Mione got into a fight at dinner, and he stormed off. I went up and talked to him, and he came down to join the house party, but he sat in a corner, just drinking Butterbeers. We tried to goad him out of sulking, but he’s a stubborn git when he’s got his mind set on something, and apparently he was set on being in a foul mood. Later he switched to Firewhiskey and proceeded to get completely pissed. I told ‘Mione to keep an eye on him, since he seemed about ready to fall down or pass out, and then there was a fight that I had to go break up. When I got back, they were gone, and I didn’t think anything of it…at first. When I got up to Potter’s room and looked in, he was on top of MY girlfriend, assaulting her. I pulled him off of her, and he punched me and ran out. That was the last I saw of him until he came strolling into the Great Hall at lunch like nothing was amiss, and I set him straight. And, well, you know what happened from there…” Ron trailed off sheepishly, shrugging his shoulders.

“I see,” Dumbledore mused, folding his hands in front of him, the twinkle gone from his eye as he listened to the sordid tale. “But, to my understanding, Harry has never shown any type of attraction towards you, Ms. Granger, before last night. Am I correct?” Hermione nodded, keeping a brave face.

“That’s right. He dated Cho for a little while, and then Ginny, but since they broke up, he’s not been with anyone. He’s gotten several invitations from sixth- and other seventh-year Gryffindor girls, but he’s never acted on them. He always said how he was so happy for Ron and I; that’s why it caught me so off-guard last night…when he-he…”

“I understand,” Dumbledore interrupted her so she didn’t have to continue. She had started to flounder in her explanation. “So let me ask you; is it possible that Harry is not interested in girls at all?” Hermione looked dumbfounded, her eyes widening. Ron, on the other hand, suddenly seemed extraordinarily interested in the arm of his chair, slowly turning red. “Ronald?”

“I-uh, well, oh fuck all,” Ron stammered. “He talked to me after one of the other parties; he said he was ‘potentially disinterested in girls’…his words…and I got kinda nervous thinking maybe he meant me, but he said I wasn’t his ‘type.’ I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before, ‘Mione. Don’t look at me like that. He asked me not to, just until he figured it out for sure. Then he was going to tell you, I promise. I guess he just figured it out and decided to go for the one thing he wasn’t supposed to have…bloody bastard.”

* * * * * *

Albus noted with interest that the girl seemed upset that her two friends had kept a secret from her, even after being assaulted. He filed it away for later perusal, now hoping that reconciliation would indeed be possible, after an amount of time had passed, anyway. He wasn’t necessarily surprised to learn that Harry was having difficulty with his sexual preferences; being the Chosen One and fulfilling the Prophecy of defeating the Dark Lord had not exactly left a large amount of space for a social life. He had his suspicions after Cho; but the end of that relationship could have been chalked up to the fact that Cho still missed Cedric Diggory and wasn’t over him. Albus had all but confirmed his theory after Ginny; she had gone on to date Dean Thomas, and Harry hadn’t attached himself to anyone else. Albus had heard through the grapevine that the break up was mutual, but Harry had no shortage of admiring and eligible female fans. He simply paid no attention to them, but Albus knew how he reacted to the younger Malfoy. And after seeing Draco’s note, he was worried for Harry’s safety and health, but he was also torn between interfering with their potential new friendship, forged from tragedy.

He guessed that it wasn’t Harry’s attraction to Hermione that had caused the assault, but rather an increase in loneliness to an unbearable degree, and being drunk, Harry hadn’t had control over his actions. While Albus did not consider that an excuse, since the sexual assault of a witch on school property was a very serious offense, he was relieved to know that Harry had not done it ‘consciously.’ He made mention of that to the couple sitting in front of him, hoping to lay the foundation for forgiveness. Hermione seemed thoughtful when processing his theory, while Ron just looked agitated. Perhaps the Weasley boy would need more time to come around. At any rate, Albus requested that Hermione tell her side of the story and what she experienced, informing her to take as much time as she needed.

* * * * * *

Hermione had been expecting this; she took a deep breath and willed her heart to be still. She had cried all last night and then again this afternoon, and the rational side of her was very, VERY tired of being emotional. She looked up at Dumbledore, fixing her eyes on a vague point above and behind his head, and confirmed what Ron had said, adding a couple of new details and explaining what had led up to the incident in the room. Her shoulders only trembled when she spoke of Harry’s attack, and her voice broke but once. She ducked her head, pulling herself together while Ron rubbed her shoulder soothingly, and continued.

“After he left, I don’t know how long we sat there, Ron holding me. My shirt was torn…I didn’t want anyone else to see…or ask questions. Ron grabbed Harry’s Invisibility Cloak, and we sneaked back to our room. By that time, though, Neville had cleaned up and was getting a few people out of the commons room…we slipped right by without being noticed. We hadn’t put it back in Harry’s room yet, but he doesn’t mind-I mean, he never minded if we borrowed it, in the past. I just wanted to get back to our room without being seen…I sat in the shower and scrubbed and scrubbed until my skin was red and raw…and I still felt…unclean. I don’t know what possessed him to do that, but I hate feeling afraid of him…” Hermione’s tears plopped softly onto her shirt, and she didn’t bother to wipe them away.

In her mind, she flashed back to first meeting Harry Potter, when they were eleven, and she was, at that point, taller than he was. She remembered seeing a scared but determined look in his bright green eyes, so striking against his then-pale skin and jet-black hair. He reminded Hermione of a nervous house-elf, until he grew comfortable enough around her and Ron to actually open up. Hermione felt very protective of him, especially when Draco Malfoy had started sniffing around. He and Ron were like the brothers she never had, until she started seeing Ron in a different light somewhere around fourth year. Ron Weasley had been the sixth boy in his family, older only than his younger sister, Ginny.

She remembered how Ginny had her first major crush on the Boy Who Lived; Ginny both adored and felt threatened by Hermione, since she was Harry’s best friend, but the two girls got on really well just the same. Hermione had walked into Gryffindor’s commons room one quiet day and saw Ginny crying on Ron’s shoulder about Harry; the look on Ron’s face was so heartbreakingly pure and protective that Hermione had fallen for him and hard, on the spot. That day had changed the way Hermione looked at Ron, and she suddenly realized how much she wanted someone to look at her with such protectiveness. Hermione had always been the one to take others under her wing, and she had found in Ron a strong and able protector, even if it had taken him three years and a war to admit that he was in love with her too.

Harry had such striking looks, green eyes and black hair, but Hermione had always thought of him as…a lost puppy. She had looked after him the way one looks after an adorable puppy; you just want to pick it up and squeeze it and never let go. Harry just didn’t have the ferocious penchant for guardianship that Ron did; but he had come into his own, trying his best to protect his friends. In spite of that, Hermione had never quite lost that ‘mother hen’ aspect where Harry was concerned. After the war, he had become slightly more withdrawn and quiet, despite her and Ron’s best efforts. She had encouraged him to date, but he ignored her. Dumbledore’s theory made sense to her: Harry had been overwhelmed with the closeness after being alone for so long, and deep in her heart, Hermione felt bad for ‘tempting’ him with the intimacies of friendship and then going off with Ron, effectively making their threesome into “three’s a crowd.” Part of her had already forgiven him and was desperate to reach out to him, but another part of her screamed that he should pay for violating her the way he did. Hermione recognized with a jolt that she wouldn’t be able to guide or protect Harry through this; he would have to go through it on his own while she had Ron.

As pity washed through her, her brain began screaming that SHE was the victim here, not Harry! Why should she pity the person who betrayed her trust? A small voice chanted that Ron was, so far, the only one to put Harry Potter in his place because he had crossed a line. All of the times she covered for him, helped him study, even wrote one or two of his essays during first- and second-years; how did he repay her?

And yet…Hermione didn’t have it in her to hate Harry Potter. In this, she envied Malfoy; he hadn’t let Harry ‘get’ to him. He had antagonized him year after year, despite who he was. Malfoy had been the only one who stood up to Harry Potter, until Ron had made him run that afternoon. She knew there was a small part of her that might never forgive Harry, but they had been friends for too long to just throw away everything; as long as he never did anything like that ever again.
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Author’s note: WHEW! It’s been a struggle since the last chapter to get inside Ron’s head; even now, I hope it was okay…Hermione was a little easier. She was more amenable today. As always, please let me know if anything seemed out of character or unbelievable.


Ruhalya—Thank you for your review! *cringe* I was afraid of the corniness, but I feel better about it hearing that it's acceptable sometimes. I hope you found this chapter less corny, and I tried to delve more into Hermione’s perceptions, so I also hope you found it believable.


Yami—I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry for the delay in this update!! I know what you mean about being impatient for updates…I thought about that, actually: having Harry taken to the Hospital Wing, but after just having confronted Ron in the Great Hall, I was worried that it was too soon for Ron to even be able to look past Harry’s suicide. I didn’t want Ron to kill him just as soon as he found love with Draco!


thrnbrooke—lol Then you’ll be really excited to see Chapter 7!