Disclaimer: I do not own anything other than the story line . All rights belong to J.K. Rowling

"Discoveries"

Hermione Granger was somewhat startled when the snowy owl landed just insider her bedroom window. After a moment though she regained her composure. "Hello Hedwig," she said, smiling at the bird. A moment later she wasn't smiling. The owl was much too agitated for such an observant witch to stay relaxed.

"What's wrong girl?" she asked. "Is it Harry?" In response Hedwig let out a low mournful hoot, holding out her leg for Hermione. Hermione removed the parchment that was rolled up and attached there. She unrolled it and began to read.

My Dearest Hermione,

How do I begin to explain this? Since my return to Privet Drive I have had a lot of time to do nothing more than sit and think. I have come to some conclusions. I have realized that for someone such as me love can be a horrible, dangerous thing. It can turn deadly in an eye blink.

I have realized that everyone that I love and care for first gets hurt, and then killed. It is hard to accept, but there it is. My Mum and Dad died when their only crime was to have a baby, and to love that baby. When I found out that I had a Godfather in Sirius Black I gave my love to him. I mean, he was the closest thing to a family that I had. Look at what that accomplished.

I came to love the Weasleys as my own family. Look how that has turned out. Ron, who I love as a brother has been attacked and injured by a gigantic chess set, almost smashed by the whomping willow, had a rogue animagus pose as his pet, attacked by acromanutlas, injured by Sirius and almost killed in the Ministry of Magic. Ginny was almost killed in the Chamber of Secrets, and then almost killed in the Ministry as well. Mr. Weasley was almost killed by Voldemort's snake, Nagini. Mrs. Weasley's boggart is her all her kids being killed, because they know me!

Let's not forget Luna and Neville, who almost died at Death Eater hands because the followed me. And then there is you. You are the one that has stuck by me through everything, no matter what. You are my best friend in the whole world. You have been the sister that I never had. You never abandoned me even when everyone else did. Do you know what Cho calls you? My "Precious Hermione," that's what. That got me thinking, you see. I admit that it took a while to get through my thick skull, but it finally did.

Believe it or not, Rita Skeeter actually got something right. You are my precious Hermione. You were a sister to me, but I came to realize over the last part of the year that you meant oh so much more to me than that. You're the smartest person that I ever met. You make me smile, and laugh, and enjoy living. You're much prettier than you give yourself credit for, and if I hadn't been such a confused git I would have taken you to the Yule Ball myself. But then, I didn't have a clue back then, did I?

Anyway, I have come to realize just how much you mean to me, and it scares me so much. Everyone that I love dies, Hermione. I thought that I had lost you last month. I thought you were dead. I couldn't breathe until Neville told me that he found a pulse. Unfortunately that's how it begins. Although it had begun long before. I'm trouble Hermione, but I can't help how I feel, and that's why you are in so much danger.

If I can't stop loving you then you're going to end up dead. The problem is that you have captured my heart, and I can't stop. There really is only one solution. The hard part is that I have to take Voldemort with me. The prophesy that was destroyed says so, you see. Dumbledore told me what it said, as he had heard it already. The most important part is this: Neither can live while the other survives… So I'll just have to take him with me. I think I've figured out how to do it.

By the time that you read this, I should be seeing Sirius again. I don't think that Ron can make you happy, though he does love you in his own way too. Find someone that makes you happy Hermione, you deserve better than you have gotten.

Your friend always and forever,

Harry

"Oh no! Oh my God no!" Hermione screamed, collapsing to the floor. Her mother and father found her that way a moment later, the letter clutched in her hand.

"Hermione, what's wrong?" her mother asked as her father scooped her up in strong arms. A quick read later and her mother was looking her in the eye. "Hermione, luv, what's the quickest way to get to Harry? You have to go to him."

"Well, it would be to apparate, or to floo, but I can't do either of those. I guess it would be the Knight Bus," she replied, her mind working furiously. She gathered up her wand and grabbed her mother's hand. "Come on, we've got to get there."

Within minutes they were on the bus. It only took a few moments more and they were pulling up to Number Four, Privet Drive in Little Winging. As they exited the bus a pink haired witch threw off the invisibility cloak that she had been wearing.

"Hermione? What's going on?" Tonks asked.

"No time! Harry's going to try to kill himself!" she shrieked. They started to race towards the front door, only to watch in horror as the entire top corner of the building exploded outwards…

They were knocked flat as the wards blew out, shattering windows all over the neighborhood. Hermione shook her head to clear it. "Tonks, the wards are down! Get us up there, now!"

Tonks nodded once and grabbed Hermione's hand, she turned on the spot and apparated both of them up to where's Harry's room had once been. The devastation was evident as they appeared. Most of the furniture had been vaporized. Looking around in shock and sheer terror, Hermione spotted him, crumpled against a wall. Most of his clothes hung in tatters from his scorched body. His glasses were nowhere to be seen, and much of his hair had been burned from his head.

With a scream she ran to him. Checking him for a pulse she gasped when she found none. She reclined him quickly and placed her hand under his neck, placing the airway in the correct position. He quickly placed her mouth over his, and pinching his nose, blew into his mouth. She did this three times and then started chest compressions.

Tonks in the meantime activated a portkey and disappeared. A few moments later Hermione's parents appeared in the doorway, after having apparently fought their way through the rubble in the rest of the house. It appeared that the Dursleys weren't home.

They found their daughter fighting for the life of her best friend. Her father quickly took over the chest compressions while Hermione resumed forcing the breath back into Harry's body. After a few moments she motioned for her mother to take over and she stood up.

"When I tell you to, move away. I'm going to try and shock his heart." She pulled her wand and thought for a moment. "Now!" Both parents backed up for moment and Hermione pointed her wand at Harry. "Perculsus!" Harry's body jerked a couple of times. The Grangers resumed the CPR. Hermione motioned for them to let her try again. She did so. Harry jerked and then let out a shuddering gasp.

Hermione collapsed down and took him into her arms. She sobbed into his chest. He groaned as he opened his eyes. He vaguely focused on her thick, bushy hair before unconsciousness claimed him once again.

He woke up much later to find himself lying in a hard, uncomfortable bed. He found himself feeling very disoriented and lightheaded, and his mouth felt like it was full of cotton. He tried to sit up, but found his progress blocked by a rather large mass of brown curls across his chest.

"Hermione?" he croaked, his voice breaking. As he said this she stirred. She sat up and looked at him. He witnessed something he never thought he would see in that moment. He watched a swirl of emotions go through his best friend: relief, concern, love (love?) and anger. Then she started hitting him on his chest.

Over and over her small blows rained down upon him, striking him as she sobbed at him. "How DARE you do that to me, Harry Potter? How dare you put me through that? Don't you ever do that to me again! Do you hear me Harry?" Her fists just kept flailing at him as a larger man gently wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off of him. She kicked at him in frustration.

"Calm down Kitten," the older man said to her softly. "Can't you see that he doesn't understand?" He held her until her struggles stopped. "He's been asleep for the last week. He's disoriented. Let him orient himself first."

An older woman came to the other side of the bed. She was probably in her forties, though she was in very good shape for a someone in her middle age. She had thick bushy brown hair and a ready smile. She reached over and cupped the side of Harry's face for a moment. "How are you feeling Harry?" she asked.

"Erm, alright I guess." He looked around. He was in the Hogwarts infirmary. The adults had to be Hermione's parents. She looked too much like Hermione to be anyone else. "Mrs. Granger?" he asked.

"Yes Harry?"

"What's going on? How did I get here?"

"Well Harry, you wrote a very distressing letter to our little girl, and she convinced us to go to you. When we got there we watched your bedroom explode. We found you in the wreckage, and then we worked to bring you back. You left us for a little while, but Hermione wouldn't let you go." She looked at him tenderly. "Can you understand why she's so upset with you?"

Harry hung his head in shame. When he looked back up he looked her straight in the eye and nodded. "I think I do, Ma'am. I deserve everything that she did. I understand why she hates me." He felt a single tear run down he cheek.

"Oh dear," she sighed. "She doesn't hate you Harry. Quite the opposite, I should think," she said with a small smile.

"Mum!" shrieked Hermione. She glared for a moment at her mother. Then she turned her gaze on Harry. "Why?"

"Everyone I love dies, Hermione. Can't you see that? Everyone that I get close to Voldemort kills. I… I couldn't let that happen to you. I've lost so many people Hermione. I couldn't lose you too. I'm not strong enough. I lost you once when I thought that Dolohov had killed you. I can't go through that again. I'm not strong enough." He sank back on his pillows, and then before he knew it all the barriers he had spent so long erecting crumbled.

He curled into a ball and started crying. Great, heaving sobs wracked his body. He didn't know how to deal with it so he retreated into himself, shuddering in his grief.

Hermione twisted herself out of her father's arms and launched herself onto Harry. She curled herself around him, spooning herself to him, and holding him close. She whispered into his ear all her love and affection for him.

"It's okay Harry, I'm here for you. I'm never going to leave your side Harry. No one is ever going to separate us again. You don't have to worry any more. I'll always help you through everything. I'm with you through anything that might happen. Just relax now Harry. Just relax in my arms and don't worry about anything right now." She sighed in relief as slowly the tension left his body and he started to straighten out. Within moments he was asleep once again in her arms.

Mrs. Granger looked at her husband and motioned with her head for the two of them to leave the room. Once they slipped out the door she turned to him with a look of great concern in her eyes.

He matched her look. "Do you think we're doing the right thing? Don't you think that we should take her and leave; just get as far away from here as we can? She's obviously in danger."

"We can't Robert, and you know it. Look at them in there. Have you ever seen to young people more in love than those two? If we were to take her away from him she'd either end up hating us and hurting herself, or she'd leave us and come back to him."

"Then let's take him with us. If we get him to go as well then she'll be happy, right?" He looked at her with false hope.

"He has to stay. From what I gather from his letter, there is some mystical prophesy that pins all their hopes on him. If he walks away from that then he condemns all he holds dear to destruction. No Robert, I don't pretend to understand it all, but he needs to be here, and unfortunately, so does she."

She turned to look at the door again. "I think that the best we can do is get to know this young man who has captured our little girl's heart, and to support the two of them as best as we can. If we love her then that's all we can do."

"You're right of course, luv," he replied, wrapping his arms around her. "It's just that that's our kitten in there, and I'm worried about her."

"I know you are. So am I," she responded. "But, well I mean really, look around you Robert. Look at all of this. Our Hermione is a part of this. This is who she is." She sighed and looked up into the face of the man that she loved so dearly. "Why don't we go back to the tower and to the room that the Headmaster provided for us. Besides, I love the idea of talking paintings. Think of the things that she must know." With a chuckle she led her husband off towards Gryffindor tower.

Harry once again found himself waking in the arms of an angel. It was by far the most contented feeling that he had ever experienced. He sighed happily.

"It's about time you woke up mister," the angel said to him. "I think that you owe me an explanation Harry," she said.

Harry sighed again, this time tinged with frustration. So much for his illusion of normalcy. He turned his head to look at Hermione. "I opened the connection Hermione," he started.

"I opened the connection all the way. I let him in to my head, passed the wards, so that he could come in. At first he didn't want to, as he remembered what had happened to him when he tried to possess me at the Ministry. But then I convinced him that I was despondent and wanted to die. It wasn't hard to do, as I truly did want to die at that moment. What I didn't show him was that I wanted to take him with me.

"Once he was in I flooded the link with every ounce of love that I had. I thought of my love for my parents, for Sirius, for the Weasleys. What really made it work though, was when I thought of you. I overloaded him on my love for you. Since he was a being held together by the magic of his hatred for me and by his fear of death, he had no ability to deal with my capacity for love.

"That is my greatest ability Hermione, my ability to love. Dumbledore told me so in his office last month. Despite everything that I've been through I can still love. How many people can say that? Despite everything, I love you more than I love life. I would do anything to keep you safe.

"So, getting back to my explanation, I overloaded him and his body couldn't withstand the stresses. The conflicting magics ripped him apart, and I guess the feedback destroyed my bedroom. I really figured that I was going to die in the struggle, but I was prepared to if it meant that I could provide you with a life without Voldemort in it."

He smiled at her. He couldn't help it. He had just confessed that he loved her and she hadn't shrunk away from him. She hadn't cried out in revulsion. She hadn't slapped him across the face. As far as he was concerned, if she didn't hate him then he could live with anything else.

"So he's really gone?" she asked.

"I don't really know. I mean, the last time that his body was destroyed he lived through it, so I can't really say. However, the last time there was thirteen years without him being back in the flesh, now wasn't there. I don't know if his soul could resist this one though. We'll have to ask Professor Dumbledore."

"Ask me what Harry?" came a response from the greatest wizard of his age as he walked into the infirmary. "I must say that you always seem to give us such interesting ways to spend our summer holidays my dear boy," he said with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Hello Professor," said Harry as he disentangled himself from Hermione's arms so that he could sit up.

"Ah, young love. I daresay that our young Miss Weasley is going to be very upset to find out that once again you are ineligible for her affections, Harry. Ah the attentions of a spirited young woman are what we men live for I'm afraid." He glanced at Hermione, who was turning beet red in the face. Harry found himself matching her shade rather quickly.

"No matter, though I must say that Miss Granger is a much more suitable match for you than Miss Chang ever was. I applaud your choice. Now, you wished to ask me something?"

Recovering his composure, Harry sat up straighter and replied. "Yes Professor. We were wondering if Voldemort could have survived this. I did what I felt was right…" He explained in great detail what he had done, and why he had done so to the Headmaster.

"That is a very interesting question Harry. One that I must say that I do not have an answer for at the present time. I have suspicions however, and if my suspicions are correct, then yes, I am afraid that Voldemort might have survived even this. However, it does appear that you have given us a very valuable reprieve from the hostilities. With Voldemort bodiless his remaining Death Eaters shall once more go to ground, and we can get down to ridding the world of Voldemort once and for all.

"That being said, I wish to tutor you and your friends personally this year Harry. I feel that if we are to find a way to accomplish that which we seek, we shall have to take some rather extreme measures to do so. Therefore, I believe it is in your best interests, as well as those of your friends that you deem worthy, to learn as much as you can in preparation for these trying times to come."

"You want to train me and my friends, Professor?" Harry asked, not quite believing what he just heard.

"I believe that I just said that. I shall leave the final selection of who I train up to you, of course, but I have a suggestion. Take only those that have proven themselves worthy of such a thing. I might be so bold as to suggest your friends from the Department of Mysteries adventure. Each of them have shown you where their loyalties lie." He turned to go, but stopped at the door and turned back to face the pair.

"I also believe that there will be repercussions from your actions this summer Harry. Your family has once again invoked the most ancient and powerful of magics. When two people invoke love induced magic when they care so much about each other, well it sets things in motion that cannot be denied."

"What do you mean, Professor?" Hermione asked.

"My dear girl, what happened on Halloween night your first year?" Dumbledore responded with a question of his own.

"Harry saved me from a troll."

"Hey, Ron helped," Harry interjected.

"Be quiet Harry, we all know that he wouldn't have been there if you hadn't insisted. It was you that saved me."

"Quite correct my dear," Dumbledore said. "Now, what has Harry confessed to you this summer?"

"That he loves me," she said in a soft voice.

"True, true… Now, how do you feel about him?" Dumbledore smiled radiantly at her.

"I love him," she whispered.

"Ah, and now, what did he do to defeat Voldemort once again?" he asked.

"He used his love to vanquish him," she responded, understanding starting to dawn in her.

"Correct. Now, what did you do for him that night last week?"

"I resuscitated him. I saved his life."

"As always, correct. You have both invoked a very ancient magic." He turned to Harry. "I told you last month that there is no magic that can bring back the dead. I should have added to that. There is no magic that can bring back the dead that can be consciously invoked by a witch or wizard. However, Harry, Hermione invoked a very old magic that night, for you did indeed die. She invoked the magic of the purest kind. She invoked the power of her love for you.

"The Muggles understand this concept. They use it all the time. It is their greatest magic, and it is yours as well. She refused to give you up. Her love brought you back. Now this can only work under extremely limited circumstances, and it only works if the deceased has just died, but it can happen."

He smiled as an owl flew into the infirmary with a letter, heading straight for the pair. "As I said, there are always repercussions. I think that you will discover one of those momentarily. I shall leave you to your thoughts and discoveries. In the meantime I shall also fetch your parents Hermione. I believe you will have much to discuss with them shortly."

With that he left, and the owl deposited the letter in their laps. The looked at the envelope with a puzzled look on their faces. Harry opened it up and they read it. As they finished both teens did the only thing that they could do. They fainted dead away.

The Grangers found the two in the infirmary, both unconscious, Hermione with a letter clutched in her hands. "What is it with these damned letters?" asked her mother. She gently shook Hermione until she woke with a start. Seeing her parents there she let out a little gasp, and then reached over and woke Harry.

Harry woke a little less frantically than she did, but when he saw Hermione's parents he started scrambling for the back of the pillows. Hermione reached out and caught his wrist, effectively stopping him in place. He looked at her, panic plainly written on his face.

"We have to tell them Harry, there isn't any other choice." He shook his head quickly to indicate just what he thought of that decision, but at a glare from her he settled down. She turned to her thoroughly bewildered parents. "Mum, Daddy, you'd better sit down."

As her parents sat she handed them the letter. They both put their heads together, and her father started reading aloud. As he did so, Harry let out a low moan.

Dear Mr. & Mrs. Potter,

As the appointed representative for the Department of Legal Registries at the Ministry of Magic, let me be the first to congratulate you on your recent nuptials. Seeing your name in the Register of Official Marriages made many heads swoon here, let me tell you.

While it is unusual it is not unheard of for two individuals as young as yourselves to marry, there are protocols that must be followed. It would be greatly appreciated if the parents or legal guardians of the both of you would be so kind as to stop by the Ministry and file the normal paperwork confirming their permission for your blessed union.

This is normally done before the marriage actually takes place, but it can be done retroactively provided that the said parents and/or guardians file the requisite forms within one month of said union. If the above mentioned paperwork is not supplied, then the Department shall dispatch investigators to confirm the above required permission.

Thank you so much for your forbearance, and wishing you much happiness and longevity in your marriage,

Mercedes Hamilton, Department of Legal Registries.

"Well, it appears you've gone and gotten yourselves into a spot of difficulty, now haven't you?" Robert Granger asked the teens, a stern look upon his face.

Harry gulped for a moment, but then something sparked within him. He gently put an arm across Hermione's body and pulled her back so that he could position himself between her and her parents. "I swear, Mr. Granger, that neither of us did anything like that letter says. Please go easy on your daughter, she doesn't deserve your anger. I'll do anything I can to get her out of this mess. I'm rather well off, and I figure that should be good to get us a good Barrister, if she wants to be rid of this, that is." He turned and looked at her.

She was beaming with pride at him. He was defending her honor, to her parents none the less! She might not emotionally understand how this all happened, but she could figure it out shortly, of that she had no doubt. Professor Dumbledore had given her the clues. Now she just had to understand it and explain it to her parents and to Harry. Oh no! What if he didn't want to be with her!

She looked at him, but all she saw was love and caring, and concern for her well being in his eyes. She swallowed and peered around Harry. "Mum, Daddy, I think I can explain."

"Don't worry Kitten, we're not mad at you or Harry," her father said with a grin. He shrugged his shoulders at Harry. "I just had to see how your young man would react. From what I understand, he was well placed in Gryffindor. He appears to have the heart of a lion." He extended his hand to Harry who gripped it.

"Hello Harry, I don't believe we've ever been properly introduced. I'm Robert Granger and this is my wife, Jean. I believe we're your In-Laws."

"Erm, Hello Mr. Granger, Mrs. Granger. I'm Harry Potter. It's a pleasure to finally meet you. I didn't really expect to do so under such circumstances though." Harry ran his hand through his hair. It seemed to be growing back at an alarming rate.

"That's alright, Harry," Mrs. Granger said. "Robert and I had already agreed earlier to support you and Hermione no matter what came of it. I must say that this is rather a bit of a shock though. Hermione, luv, you mentioned that you thought you could explain it to us?"

"Yes Mum. You see, when a witch or a wizard saves another witch or wizard, a bond is formed. Back in our first year Harry saved me from a mountain troll. Remember I told you about how he came to my rescue with his friend Ron? Well, that formed a bond between us. The three of us have been best of friends ever since. Harry also saved me a couple of other times over the last four years. Now, however, we've kind of fallen in love with each other. That doesn't happen very often between two who already have the life bond. Now, when two who already have such a bond, and then they fall in love, and then the one that was previously saved saves the original savior in return, well, it does something to the bond."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, confused.

"It transforms the life bond into a soul bond, Harry," she explained. "It means that we soul bonded last week. It sealed our love." She had gotten very quiet with her speech. She hoped that he wouldn't react to this the way he always did when he felt he had been manipulated by others or just the fates.

"So we are married," he whispered. He looked at her. "How do you feel about that, Hermione?"

"What about you, Harry?" Mrs. Granger asked.

"Shhhh…" Harry replied, waving his hand for her to let Hermione speak. "I want to hear how she feels about this."

"Well, to be honest about it Harry, I'm kind of happy actually," she responded. "I mean, since second year, I've kind of had this fantasy about being Mrs. Harry Potter. At first it was because you were so famous, and you had decided to be my friend and all, but then I got to know you, and you became just Harry, and surprisingly, the fantasy never went away." She nibbled on her bottom lip like she always did when she was nervous.

""You've wanted to be with me since second year?" he choked out. "Why didn't you ever tell me? We could have… but in fourth year when Rita Skeeter wrote… last year with Cho… why?"

"Come on Harry. I mean, look at me. I'm so plain. I'm a book worm, I have bushy hair, and I'm not pretty like Cho or Ginny or Lavender. What have I got to offer you? I contented myself with your friendship. At least I could have you that way after all. It was enough." She looked at him as tears welled up in her eyes.

"Give me a moment to answer that," he managed to get out. He got up off the bed and paced for a moment. "Do you realize how long I've gone without anyone ever saying 'I love you' to me?" He stopped pacing and looked at her. She shrank back a bit. "I would give almost anything to go back and make you tell me earlier, so that we could have been happier these last few years. I think that both of us had so many issues that we could have benefited from it."

He looked at her parents. "Mr. & Mrs. Granger, I love your daughter, and I had thought to ask for permission to date her tonight. Instead I find myself asking for you to accept me into your family. I've never had a proper family before now. I don't really know how to do this right.

"I thought that I would have a couple of years to date her before I asked her to marry me, but it seems that fate had other plans for us. If we are indeed soul bonded, then I could never ask her to give that up. I certainly don't want to give it up. I know that I want to spend my life with her. The last five years have taught me that. I want to make her happy. I want her to someday have a family of our own with me. I want to be a part of her successes and failures. I want to make her life complete.

"I have the means available to me to make sure that she wants for absolutely nothing. I would give it all up to have my parents and Sirius back, but there it is. I can at least use what they left me to make her comfortable. She won't have to do a day's work that she doesn't want to for the rest of her life. Whatever she wants to do she can. I hope that she wants to always spend those days with me."

He sighed and sat down on the bed, reaching over to grab her hand. As he did so he started giggling madly.

"What's so funny Harry?" asked Mrs. Granger.

"I just realized that I'm married to the most incredible witch in the world, and I've never even kissed her. That pretty much sums up my life. Effing bizarre if you asked me." He realized what he had said and immediately turned bright red. "Erm, sorry about that."

"Let's change that, shall we?" Hermione said as she grabbed him. She leaned in and they kissed for the very first time. Having only had one other kiss in his life, and that one being a rather messy thing with Cho under the mistletoe, he wasn't exactly an expert in what a good kiss should be.

He could only say that this was something that felt so right that it kind of scared him. Her lips were feathery soft and light on his. The feeling that exploded through his brain when their lips touched had him instantly addicted to this though. It was by far the most incredible experience of his life.

When they finally surfaced due to lack of oxygen, Harry let out a satisfied gasp. "I think I could summon one Hell of a patronus off that kiss," he murmured.