For a second there was no sound as they just stared into each other's eyes. Then Harry opened his mouth, closed it, opened and closed it again, and was about to do this yet a third time when he was spared by Hermione's words.

"You don't have to if you don't want to, Harry..."

"No!" he almost yelled. "No, it's not that," he contined somewhat more calmly. "It's just... ever since I begun feeling this way, I've wanted... but not like this... I wanted us to be together but not... well, eventually but..." He was losing confidence again. "You know what I mean, do you?" he asked hopelessly.

Hermione was almost grinning. "Yes Harry, I understand. Me too..." she blushed a little, but then her voice became stronger and more decided. "But I don't have any time left, Harry... I don't want to die without you knowing how much you mean to me... I don't want to die without having done this. And I want to leave you something to remember me by..."

Overcome with emotion, Harry clasped both his hands around hers. Then, ever so gently, he lowered himself upon her and kissed her, softly but lovingly. Dawn was approaching, and when they finally broke apart, Harry found himself staring at something he'd never believe he would see... the shiny eyes of the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, staring back at him, full of the same love that was making his heart flutter.

And yet she's dying, he had to remind himself. But he stopped his train of thoughts from dwelling too much in the notion that he had just found the best thing in the world and that he was going to lose it inmediately. She wanted this to be a parting gift to him; well, he was going to make sure to do his best for her too, make her final moments as good as possible.

"So..." her voice snapped him back to reality. She looked so tired, he thought... "are we, hum... gonna do it?"

Harry stood up slowly, and for a moment it wasn't clear wether he was about to run away from her or what. But then he undid the silver clasps of his robes, which fell to the floor, and started taking off the rest of his clothes while Hermione smiled at him.

Soon he was down to his underwear, which he removed nervously, staring at the stone floor, cold under his bare feet. No one had ever seen him naked, much less a girl... He walked to the bed and finally made eye contact with Hermione, who was still smiling and had raised an eyebrow appreciatively.

As he made to remove the blanket covering her, though, her smile faded again. "Harry," she said softly, "could you... you know... not look at me? Close your eyes or something... I mean..." she sighed a little. "I've never been much to look at, and now..." she trailed off.

It was his turn to smile now as he replied to her worries. "I told you once that I didn't think you were ugly... I should have said, even back then, that I thought you very pretty. And as for this," he added, with just a quick nod to the bandages visible covering her shoulders, "that doesn't bother me... what kind of a boyfriend would I be if I let something like that get in the way of doing naughty things with my girl?" He was smirking as he said this.

Hermione laughed at this, and it was the most wonderful sound he had ever heard, as he was already beginning to think that there would never again be more laughs in his life. He swore to himself never to forget this moment.

"My boyfriend! What are you talking about, silly..." she said, still smiling, as he got under the covers and passed an arm over her waist.

"Well, that's what I think this is," came his now serious reply. "You and I... this isn't something casual, even if, you know..." He stopped; he didn't want to say "even if it only can happen this one time." He moved on quickly though. "What I mean is, I could never think of you as of someone I just slept with. You are for me... everything." He stopped again, because what had sounded in his mind so important to say had came out all wrong and corny-sounding. But Hermione seemed to have understood, because she scooted closer to him, pressed her whole body against his, and kissed his lips fully.

As he responded to her passionate kiss, he became suddenly very aware of her complete nakedness resting again his equally uncovered body, and the fact that his right hand had somehow - without him meaning to - found a very bare butt cheek to hold on to. Soon Hermione also noticed his 'awareness', and smiled as she broke the kiss.

"Mr. Potter! How dare you point your wand at me like that?" she asked, in mock indignation.

"Hermione!" he said, amused at her lame joke.

Laughing again - another wonderful memory, he thought - she apologized. "I know, it's so trite, but I always thought it would be worth just to see your face when you heard it." She tried to kiss him again but he pulled back, smirking.

"Always, huh? Just how long have you been wanting to do this?" As he said this, he moved his other arm under her small frame, and clasped both his hands around her, carefully avoiding the bandaged area.

"I see you are already thinking too much of yourself, Potter" she said, snorting. "I'd hate to make your head get too big... but I guess, maybe it's already late for that?" she added, while pushing her hips against his and eliciting a short moan from his throat. "It's not like you have the biggest wand around here," she said in a mocking tone.

At this, Harry was suddenly distracted. Instead of asking her if she was done with her terribly lame innuendos, he said, in what he hoped sounded like an off-handed voice: "Er.. why... have you, hum, seen... I mean..." He didn't know how to ask this.

She looked at him in the eyes and didn't say anything for a few seconds during which Harry felt his insides get strangely heavy. Finally, in a slightly amused voice, came the reply.

"Can't bring yourself to ask me, Potter? Where's that Gryffindor courage now?" She was positively smirking now, but Harry was thinking that this was probably a memory he wouldn't want to keep.

"No, I'm sorry, Hermione, I - I'm sorry, you know? It doesn't matter to me - " he said apologetically, but her laughter - and again, Harry felt transported - interrupted him.

"No one, Harry, and you should know it. I know you haven't been with anyone either," she added to his bewilderment. "And I'm glad, I wanted you all for me." With this, she kissed him again but withdrew quickly. "But Harry, amazing at this is... I don't think we should waste much time, you know?"

Harry was started to see, now that the night outside was getting more and more clear, just how pale her face was.

"Right!" he said, and he was surprised to notice that his body was, indeed, very ready for the task at hand. "Hum... you know, what we just said is great but... eh..." Again, words failed him, but Hermione answered his unspoken question and Harry had time to feel amazed at just how much she knew him and how easily it was for her to understand what he wanted to say, before the full meaning of her words ("I think I should be on top - you know, because of my back...") finally sunk in and other, more powerful emotions took control of his actions.

And so Harry found himself laying motionless on the bed as she climbed on top of him. He stared at her, noticing her bandaged breasts and the way her legs had parted so she could sit with her knees on either side of his legs, revealing her sex for the first time. He barely had time to wonder at the contrast of her neatly trimed pubic hair with her extremely bushy hair, when she rested her weight on him, and he had to make a great effort not to lose it right there.

When he regained some control, he realized he had closed his eyes and opened them, to see Hermione smile down at him. Framed against the clear sky of the morning, the white blanket falling down her shoulders and her bushy hair waving softly in the gentle breeze, she looked more beautiful than ever.

But Hermione meant business, and she made it clear by teasingly slidding forwards, trapping him under herself and making his body ache for relief. With a grunt, Harry realized that it was time to regain some control of the situation, so he placed his hands on either side of her hips and held her firmly. He swallowed hard.

"Are you ready for this, Hermione?"

She seemed to consider him for a moment and then smiled and nodded softly. Raising herself on her knees, she took him in her hand, gently stroking him, and maneuvered her body until he was pressed against her entrance. Harry gave her a reassuring nod, and she started to lower herself down, taking him in.

Ever so slowly Harry felt himself sinking into her flesh. It was an undescriptable sensation, and he had to will himself to keep lasting if he didn't want this to end in a second.

Soon enough he reached the barrier he knew was going to be there, and he realized he'd been holding his breath this long. Hermione closed her eyes and, all of the sudden, left herself fall on him, taking in all his length. She just left out a faint, pained moan, and stood there motionless.

"Are you alright?" asked a concerned Harry whilst softly caressing the small of her back. She forced a smile and gave him the smallest of nods, but Harry saw that the movement beneath her bandages had intensified. He didn't have time to worry about this though, as she leaned down, resting her whole body on top of his, her bushy hair tickling his chin. So he just held her tightly, placing soft kisses on the top of her head, and waited for her to make the next move.

After a few minutes spent like this, Hermione leaned back again. Harry held her hands, and as they entwined their fingers, she started to move her hips back and forth, slowly at first but picking up speed with every thrust. She tilted her head back, her eyes closed and a expresion of mixed pain and pleasure on her face.

Harry stared at her as she rode him faster and faster, his own feelings torn between the pleasure of the moment and the desperation caused by her inminent fate. But his own instincts, along with his desire to make this good for her, took over, and soon he found himself moving his hips in rhythm with hers, pulling back when she did and meeting her when she came back down on him, driving himself deeper and deeper into her, the wet sounds of their lovemaking filling the otherwise silent room.

But even giving it his best effort, this was simply too much, too good, and soon he realized it was going to be over for him.

"Her - Hermione," he panted, "I'm - almost there!"

"Don't you dare, Potter!" she snarled. And somehow Harry found the strength to last a little more, suddenly convinced that it wasn't a good idea to fail her now. "I'm - nearly there too!"

And with a final effort, Harry thrusted into her a few more times, until he felt her contracting around him, and they went over the edge at the same time, both moaning each other's name.

Harry remained quite still, coming down from the heights were Hermione had taken him to, as he felt himself emptying into her. When he had finally calmed down enough to be able to talk coherently, he opened his eyes and looked into her lover's face, but what he saw nearly made him scream.

Hermione's bandages had been ripped apart by what was now waving wildly behind her. An enormous mass of indistinctly mixed limbs and what appeared to be animal parts was sticking out from her back, sometimes dissappearing and changing into other things. A deadly-looking scythe-thing shot out of her and lashed at the next bed, which then fell to the floor, cut in pieces.

"Hermione!" Harry shouted. Forgetting the wild-looking spare parts coming out of her back and visibly moving under her skin, he grabbed her shoulders and shook her. She had thrown back her head, an expresion of terrible pain on her shiny face. "Hermione!" he called again, "Don't leave me! Don't you dare leave me now!"

With obvious effort, she turned her face to look at him, tears falling down her cheeks. "I - I'm sorry, I can't - Harry!" she managed to say before the pain made her unable to speak anymore.

"Hermione!!" he bellowed as he wrapped his arms around her, not caring that some of the misshapen mutated things on her were cutting his skin open. He held onto her as tightly as he could, until her anguished screams ceased and he collapsed limply on top of him, horrible things still molving wildly on her back.

"Damn it, Hermione!," Harry screamed into her ear, his eyes closed tightly, tears streaming down his face. "You can't leave now... don't you know what you mean to me?" he said, sobbing uncontrollably. But she remained still on his arms.

"Damn it, Hermione...," he said again, in a soft voice. "Don't you know that I love you? That I always have?"

But even the things sticking out of her back had quieted down now, and Harry just kept crying with his face buried into Hermione's neck, her lifeless body lighter than ever on top of him. So light in fact that she didn't seem to have weight at all. Her last word, his name, kept ringing into his ears.

"Harry... Harry!"

It took him a few seconds to realize that he was hearing her voice for real. And when he opened his eyes again, it was to see her pale, tired but smiling face hovering not an inch from his.

He watched, open-mouthed, as she leaned back as in slow motion, and the torn blanket fell down from her shoulders to reveal something white and huge. And then, as she entwined her fingers with his again, two enormous, feathery wings spread out to either side of her and waved slightly, lifting her just a few inches before letting her come back down, suddenly reminding Harry that he was still inside of her.

It was then when the first beams of the morning sun came in through the window opposite them, bathing her in light, and for a moment Harry thought that there she was an angel, but the warmth of her skin against his own reassured him it was for real.

And then it hit him: she wasn't dead, she wasn't going to die; she had out-willed Bellatrix and managed to turn the effects of the spell into something that far from killing her only made her more wonderful, more beautiful, and quite possibly even gave her some added advantages.

But he didn't have time to think about this, as she once again leaned forwards, wrapping her arms around his waist, her bare breasts pressing against his chest for the first time. Her fresh new wings folded themselves and covered them both in a feathery canopy, shielding them from the world outside.

They kissed lovingly for some time, until she broke apart to whisper on his ear; "I love you too, Harry Potter. Now... are you ready for round two?" And, smiling wildly, they started kissing again.

...

Neither of them ever noticed that they hadn't been alone for quite some time now, as the people waiting outside of the hospital wing had rushed back in when Hermione had started screaming in agony a while ago. So they didn't get to see a madly twinkling Headmaster steering out a very shocked Madam Pomfrey, and Professor McGonagall, whose jaw seemed to be about to part ways with her skull. Once he got them out, he closed the door quietly behind him, and then casted a silence charm on it so that no sounds would get in or out. Then, turning on his heels and still twinkling mad, he addressed the stunned women.

"Well, Poppy, I'm sure whatever tests you want to run Miss Granger through can wait for... another half an hour, I daresay. Kindly head to the kitchens and look for a house-elf named Dobby, who I'm sure will be very happy to hear the good news. No need to tell him the details though - and please warn him not to come visit either of them right now. And Minerva - I think that even though they have broken quite a few rules in the last hour, we can turn a blind eye just for this time? As their Head of House, I suppose you'll be having 'the talk' with them later on, but I'm sure that can wait as well." He was positively beaming now.

"You knew, didn't you?" half-shouted Professor McGonagall. "You knew they'd do this and - and she'd defeat the curse!" Now that she seemed to have taken in the fact that her best student would survive, she was behaving like her usual self again, and questioning everything.

"Well, I wasn't sure, but I guess our new Head Boy and Girl were up to the challenge."

Professor McGonagall's lips were as thin as ever.

"See, Minerva, if anyone could find a way to defeat this horrible curse, it was them. I can't wait to see the look on Bellatrix's face when she finds out how it backfired. I daresay our Miss Granger will put her new assets to good use."

"But Headmaster, how is she going to live like that?," she asked.

"Harry, er, nailed it," he said, smirking. "Miss Granger will be able to become a Metamorphmagus soon enough, and in the meantime she can stay at Hogwarts. And as for the both of them, well, I'm guessing that for the time being they should be okay, as long as they limit themselves to the appropiate, hum, positions - "

"Albus!" cried out Professor McGonagall indignantly, but her lip was oddly curled up.

"Just one last thing before I go and inform her parents of the, er, recovery, Minerva. I believe there was a little ongoing bet about those two ending up together? Ten galleons, if I remember correctly?"

And as she payed him, Professor McGonagall couldn't stop herself from smiling.

The End

Thanks to everybody for reading and for reviewing this. It's my first fanfic ever and I'm really glad people liked it. It was never intended to go beyond this simple idea, but I'm intrigued about the possibility of a sequel (and perhaps a prequel). I can't promise anything though, as I'm pretty busy with other things. Another couple of short fanfics sound more likely, although the ones I have in mind aren't really suitable for posting in some places ^^;

I'd like to ask the readers to please point out grammar and spelling mistakes as well as odd, awkward phrasing. I've already updated both chapters correcting all the mistakes I found, but english is my 2nd language and I could use some help here :)