Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Moments in Love	By : Gandalfs-Beard Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Harry/Hermione Views: 175861 -:- Recommendations : 3 -:- Currently Reading : 14
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. All rights belong to Rowling. Nor do I make any money from the story.

Chapter List
- 61
- 62
- 63
Day of the Dead

“I’m so sorry Harriet!” said Hermione guiltily, holding a plastic bag full of ice to Harriet’s throbbing jaw. “I should have been more prepared for that. I just thought... I mean... I don’t know... maybe I’m just naive...”
“I’m alright, really, Hermione!” Harriet exclaimed, trying very hard not to wince and make Hermione feel even guiltier. “I’ve had way worse from Uncle Vernon! At least your dad is more or less alright with me now. I’m just glad that it’s all over...”
“Hmmph!” said Hermione, a frown replacing her look of concern. “It’s just the beginning really... a good start. I love him dearly, and I’m happy enough to forgive him to a certain degree now that he seems to finally believe me about you, but Dad’s still got a lot of work to do before he can truly make amends to me and Mum for how he treated us... really show he’s sorry in a meaningful way.
“He clearly still has difficulty controlling himself when he gets angry, and he possibly has a drinking problem if he handles all of his upsets now by drowning them in alcohol. And I admit, it... it’s still really hard for me to reconcile the man I saw in there - the man who nearly broke my door down - with the father I grew up with... He always seemed so calm and peaceful, so together...”
“That’s it right there though, innit!?” said Dora after taking another sip of her lager. “‘E was probably used to holdin’ it all in... bottling up his feelings all those years - probably raised that way. People like that can sometimes blow big when they finally snap... and they don’ always ‘ave the right emotional tools to deal with the anger once they’ve let it out.”
“I expect you’re right...” Hermione bit her lip, then sighed and took a sip of her own frothy lager, briefly noting the irony.
After seeing her father and eliciting an agreement from him to return to Australia with the promise to visit him, Hermione had been too wound up to return directly to Jennifer’s. Harry had become Harriet again and a freshly disguised Hermione had dragged her and Dora to the nearest pub. Hermione had just been intending to have a fizzy lemonade but Dora had already popped up to the bar and returned with lagers for everyone by the time Hermione and Harry had found a relatively secluded booth.
“I just wish there was more I could do to help him,” Hermione went on after a moment. “If he had someone he could talk to... some sort of counselor... I wish there were support groups for muggle parents with wizard children.”
“Y’know, we could probably arrange that,” said Dora. “If ‘e’s not so dead set against magic any more, we might be able to find your dad someone to talk to in Australia... a wizard counselor. Sirius can ask his contacts to recommend someone. They might even have support groups for muggle relatives of wizards for all I know... nearly all wizards in Australia are either half-blood or muggleborn.”
“Oh, that’s excellent Dora!” said Hermione, beaming. “You’re right... It should be easier now to convince Dad to see a wizard counselor...”
Having cheered up a bit, Hermione managed to put it behind her and just enjoy herself, sharing a very wet evening in London with Harriet and Dora. After finishing their lagers, the three of them found a cinema showing the latest comedy featuring a gangly American actor as a pet detective and had a good laugh before apparating back to Jennifer’s.

~o0o~
Two weeks of training flew by and it was mid-December before anyone knew it. Harry was quite surprised and Hermione was especially thrilled that the Coven training had been going so well, despite the lack of orgies. She had suggested to Harry that they try working on a number of basic spells and practicing them all together for at least an hour every day to get used to it.
They experimented with casting spells in various formations as indicated by the book about Covens. After several days of successful practice as a Coven, Harry finally broached the subject which had been on his mind with Hermione shortly after they had woken one morning.
“Hermione,” he began, “I know you said that everyone had to have similar energy frequencies to make some spells have different effects, but are you absolutely sure? D’you think that it’s possible to make a difference to the others’ Patronuses if we practiced them as a Coven?”
Hermione bit her lip as she thought about it. She clambered out of bed and retrieved a number of books from the bookcase in their bedroom. Climbing back into bed, Hermione leafed through the book Covens in Theory and Practice to find the relevant pages. Then she opened up a very complicated looking book, Metaphysicorum: the Algebra of Alchemy.
“This is more or less the wizarding version of Quantum Physics,” she said, seeing Harry’s bewildered expression.
Hermione picked up another book, The Alchemy of the Spirit, and flicked through it. “And this one is about the human energy-field, from a perspective of European and Egyptian Alchemy. It’s very informative but it only covers knowledge from ancient times to the late17th century, though it does have a section about Spirit Pairs, and even Spirit Triads which are apparently a thing too... They’re much rarer than Pairs obviously.
“This one is much more up to date in theory and terminology about magic and its relationship to electricity, regarding what we discussed with Dumbledore,” she added, showing Harry another book, The Hierarchy of Resonant Frequencies: The Transmission and Amplification of Magical Energy by Nikola Tesla.
“I found it in Number Twelve’s library when we were in London for the trial. One of the sections explains in more modern scientific detail how ‘Spirit Pairs’ work, though Tesla calls the principle ‘Coupled Bio-Energetic Resonance’ when applied to the interaction between the energy-fields of two humans.
“According to Tesla, electromagnetic energy fields operate differently. He calls the principle Coupled Circuit Resonance when applied to electricity, which is how Tesla Coils work, but in that case there are primary and secondary circuits with the primary being resonant and the secondary is anti-resonant.
“Whereas when it comes to magical energy between two matching humans, there really is no primary and secondary, because the energy cycles through them as if they were a single unit... If my understanding is correct - and I’m really not entirely certain - the human magical energy field in an individual already contains the magical equivalent of a primary and secondary electrical circuit...”
Without pausing to take a breath, Hermione placed a fifth book on the bed that was now quite familiar to Harry, The Wizarding Edition of the Tai Chi Classics, and opened it to the Qigong addendum.
“...And of course,” she continued, “this is probably the most detailed and accurate illustration of the circuit of the human magical energy field...”
Harry felt more than a bit lost as Hermione continued to lecture while speed reading through the sections of the books, but he waited patiently for her to put it all together and work out an answer to his question. Hermione finally stopped talking and bit her lip, frowning pensively. Harry could almost see the gears spinning and whirring in her brain.
“Hmm, it might be possible I suppose,” she muttered, apparently to herself.
“What might be? D’you mean the others might be able to cast Patronuses like ours?”
“Maybe. It’s hard to be certain, but I think they possibly could after all... at least while we’re all connected - while performing them as part of the Coven spell. Some of the pairing and triad principles seem to apply, despite not having matching energy signatures.
“As I mentioned previously, part of what makes Covens work is having strong emotional connections to one another coupled with physical proximity. The emotional energy field - which is distinct from the magical energy field, but still has effects on it - of each individual synchronizes with the others when in group formation and everyone is focusing their Intent on the same Objective.
“That leads to the amplification of emotional energy, which is what makes Coven spells more powerful than if performed by a group of wizards without the same strong emotional connections to one another. Now, it appears that while linked, the frequencies of the ‘spirits’ - the magical energy fields of the human form - could be temporarily altered and synchronised to match.
“But only if the members of the group subordinate their own Wills to a Leader’s Will - which I suppose could be the Will of a Matching Pair or Triad....”
“Wait,” said Harry, a knot of distaste in his stomach forming as he caught the gist of it, “D’you mean like slaves and cult-members who serve their Masters?”
Hermione peered at Harry apologetically and tried to think of the right words to explain it without upsetting him too much.
“Well... not so much slaves - unless they’re slaves with Stockholm Syndrome like most house-elves - but I’m afraid yes... very much like cult-members. A Coven isn’t entirely different from a cult with very few members, relatively speaking. The same principles apply - a group of people aligned on an emotional level who are directing their Intent and Energy to a Singular Purpose or in the case of a Cult a Singular Individual.
“When that focus is on one person the group dynamic changes from an equal distribution of Emotional Energy to what you can picture as a pyramid with that one person - or one Pair or Triad - at the top.
“In the case of a proper Coven with real magic, Magical Energy can also be channeled through a leader instead of everyone contributing and receiving the magic on an equal basis, and the leader in turn releases the energy back to the group, closing the circuit and temporarily syncing everyone else’s Magical Frequency Signature with the leader’s.
“The resonance produces the same power levels of the standard Coven formation (keeping in mind that it is the intensity of emotional energy which fuels the power of the magic behind the spells), but in this case the frequency of the magical energy ramps up as well, resonating at exponentially higher and higher frequencies, just like we do when we cast spells together.
“Of course, once the spell is finished and that particular formation is broken, everyone’s magical and emotional energy fields revert to their original frequency signature. So it is possible that while everyone is connected directly to us in the ‘pyramid’ formation, they could generate Patronuses like ours, but their Patronuses would otherwise be normal once unlinked...”
The image of the pyramid structure of the energy flow vs the image of what Harry considered a normal group structure with everyone at equidistant points - an Octagram at the moment in their case - formed in his brain and finally the pieces began to fall together. Harry felt that he at least had the gist of it now, even if not fully comprehending all the details. There was something nagging at Harry though.
“But why do ours - the magic behind yours and my Patronuses - resonate even when you and I are apart,” he asked, a question which had been bugging him for a while. “During Voldemort’s siege of Hogwarts I was able to conjure a Patronus all by myself as powerful as when we’re doing it together.”
“My best guess is that’s because we’re never really apart, even at a distance. We might be linked by something modern physicists call ‘Quantum Entanglement.’ It could be that because our Energy Fields have the same frequency signature we’re like a single subatomic particle that’s been ‘split’ in two...
“Each particle is still essentially the exact same particle in what is called ‘non-local’ space - which then appears as two linked across the three dimensions of spacetime that we’re used to. If I understand things correctly, I think this is because all subatomic particles can be viewed as either a wave or a particle, depending on how you look at them.
“Applying the same principle to us, that could explain why your Patronus was just as powerful when you cast it by yourself...”
Hermione paused and peered at Harry, watching hopefully as he tried to wrap his brain around the concepts and form images in his mind. After a few moments she saw something click. Harry nodded, his face brightening.
“I don’t really get all the details, but I think I actually got the upshot on the first go round, Hermione,” Harry said with a grin. “That actually makes sense to me...”
Hermione beamed at Harry and hugged him. “We’ll make an Arithmancer of you yet,” she whispered. “And maybe an Alchemist too...” Hermione paused to give Harry time to enjoy the moment, then she bit her lip and dropped the bombshell.
“There’s just one slight problem,” Hermione moaned. “Well... it could be a problem... but maybe it’ll still work. Anyway, I... I was wrong! ... It seems that sex does come into things! ...”
“Wait,” said Harry, not sure if he was hearing right, “You mean as in... er... all of us together?”
Hermione nodded sheepishly. “I’m sorry Harry. Until I compared all of the relevant material side by side I didn’t really understand how much positive intimate physical contact plays a role in Coven spells... or maybe I just didn’t want to. I mean... we already knew it made some difference to our own magic... Dumbledore even called it ‘sex-magic’ when we were discussing things after the Third Task...”
Harry groaned. “Couldn’t we just... I dunno.... group hug maybe?” he asked.
“Well... there might be a work-a-round. But to finish out my thought and answer your question - it doesn’t mean we can’t do Coven magic - we’ve already seen that we can. But without the... er... sex, we’ll never reach our full potential, and it’s quite possible that it might take that level of commitment for everyone else to conjure Patronuses like ours...”
Harry gaped at Hermione’s neutral expression. Was she actually considering it? He struggled with a brief moment wondering if he would even be able to perform, as the idea was slightly terrifying to him. Harry did his best to scrub the scenes his imagination had conjured from his mind; it was too much like cheating - there was no way he would ever do that to Hermione.
Hermione watched Harry cannily as she continued, feeling more than a hint of satisfaction as she read the expressions on his face.
“But it’s also possible that we could manage it without the sex,” she went on. “We’ll just have to try it and see what happens. I suppose a ‘group hug’ actually wouldn’t hurt to try as well...”
“But if that doesn’t work, what’s the ‘work-around’ you were thinking of?” Harry asked.
“Well...” said Hermione, “in theory it’s possible that we could pair off in a hallowed space large enough that all the couples could find a bit of privacy without cutting off the flow of magical and emotional energy...”
“...And everyone would be in some sort of geometric formation with each couple at the corners,” Harry interjected with a nod. “Yeah... I could see how that might work... maybe around the pond... bushes and foliage to hide us...”
Harry frowned as he trailed off; the whole idea still weirded him out a bit, but Hermione still had a perfectly neutral expression on her face. He supposed if it came right down to it, there really wasn’t any reason not to at least give it a good try other than embarrassment. It would be worth it if it really did help them reach their full potential as a Coven. But then another problem occurred to him. Harry sighed and slumped as Hermione nodded...
“You see the problem then,” said Hermione. “Luna and Parvati aren’t a couple...”
“Maybe we could sneak Ginny out of the castle for a... er... a date with Luna,” Harry suggested. “Ginny really ought to be part of the Coven too anyway.”
“I agree,” Hermione replied. “And yes, we could actually sneak Ginny out through the portraits. And as long as Ginny doesn’t go past the wards surrounding Jennifer’s estate I think they’re strong enough to block her Trace. But there’s still a problem...”
“Parvati,” Harry sighed. “She doesn’t have anyone to pair up with... and I don’t know if she likes girls anyway... I suppose if she had a boyfriend... But that wouldn’t work because of the whole Covens being a female thing - mostly... Besides, it would have to be someone else who was already close to us...”
Hemione patiently listened to Harry think out loud in fragmented sentences until he ran out of steam.
“Bugger it!” said Harry finally, heaving another sigh. “I guess we’ll just group-hug and hope for the best...”

~o0o~
Hermione had explained what they were about to attempt to the others. She tried to gloss over some of the details as there seemed little point in getting everyone’s hopes up only to dash them as she had with Harry. But Hermione had little luck when Luna pressed her, revealing all she had learned and the snag that she and Harry had hit upon. Soon everyone was falling all over each other laughing about the narrowly avoided “sex-party” while Harry’s face burned like a furnace.
For their part, Luna and the rest of the Potters’ friends took it all in good fun, finding some amusement in gently teasing Harry and Hermione a bit for being their Objects of Worship - even if only temporarily while performing some particular spells as a Coven. Indeed, there seemed to be an awful lot of whispering and giggling coming from Luna and Parvati and Dora and Fleur.
Harry did his best to put aside his distaste for being a part-time co-“cult-leader,” and practicing their Patronuses as a Coven - under his and Hermione’s “control” - became a part of their daily routine as December grew even colder and wetter. Without Dementors or Inferi to test them on, it was hard to know if everyone else’s Patroni would exhibit some of the same effects as the Potters.
But the dazzling brightness of the others’ Patroni and the intensity of the euphoria induced by the highly refined eddies of magic swirling around them was a very hopeful sign. Harry felt exceptionally giddy, intoxicated by the incredible amounts of magic flowing through him.
The phrase “drunk with Power” popped into his mind, sobering Harry and reminding him why he had been so reticent to take on the role of “cult-leader” to begin with. He wondered if this was how Voldemort felt when his followers bowed and scraped before him and called him Lord without a shred of irony.
Harry tried to remind himself that he and his wife and friends relied on each other out of friendship, out of love, not out of a state of terror and hate. A glance at Hermione confirmed for Harry that she shared his mixed feelings. He was glad that the Weasley Twins couldn’t see him now, certain that he would never hear the end of it, sure that they would make up some ridiculous deity titles for him and Hermione - God of Broomsticks and Snitches, and Goddess of Libraries maybe.
Hermione was having reservations of her own. Seeing Harry struggling to maintain some sort of control over his emotions and the feelings of Power surging through him made her feel a bit better about her own inner-battle.
It was easy to see why most Cults were focused on a charismatic individual rather than actually operating as communally as they pretended to be on the surface. And it also appeared to explain - at least in part - why the power structure of society remained more or less pyramid shaped despite a semblance of democracy in some public institutions. Once in a position of power, it would be hard for most not to succumb to the feelings of invincibility and to start believing in one’s own superiority to justify the permanence of the imbalanced power arrangement.
But it also occurred to Hermione that the key difference between the Coven and most other groups when arranged in a pyramidic form was that she and Harry were closing the circuit, allowing the energy to freely flow back to the rest of the group. In most groups, those at the top left the circuit open, hoarding the energy, keeping the power for themselves, whatever form it came in: wealth, political power, emotional energy...
Hermione wondered if Voldemort’s power at his height had come in part from drawing on the energy created by inspiring terror in others. Had Voldemort engaged in Dark group rituals to attain such power for himself?
It seemed quite plausible, even likely. Even though a Dark group like Death Eaters could never truly be a Coven, one thing had become clear from reading the books, a wizard with the right set of skills could nonetheless draw upon the emotional energy of the group they commanded and make it his or her own, fueling their magical spells with it.
Finally the day arrived that the Coven had set for themselves to make last minute preparations. They packed their bags, pored over lists, making last minute adjustments as needed. Harry and Hermione left Dobby with instructions to look after Hedwig and Crookshanks, and Dobby reminded the Potters that he was available at the call of his name should they need him on their mission.
Satisfied that they were as ready as they would ever be, the Coven made an early night of it to assure that they would be up bright and early the following morning.

~o0o~
The snow continued to fall from the pearly-grey skies as the Coven looked out from the top of a mountain across the rigid peaks and blanketed valleys of one of the most remote regions of Wales. Fleur shivered, grateful for the thick parka and the Rune tattoos which would protect her from the worst effects of the biting cold.
Jennifer peered from under the hood of her own well insulated coat at the mobile-phone in her gloved hand. She had no service in this location anyway, but the phone wasn’t doing anything weird otherwise, and seemed to be all in order. Daphne, who was taking a turn with Jennifer’s Walkman, shook her head, indicating that the radio signal seemed to be operating with little or no interference.
Hermione glanced at the compass she had brought. It had been a last minute addition when it had occurred to Hermione that a malfunctioning compass could also be an indication of a nearby magical facility; however, at the moment, the compass appeared to be working just as it ought to. The rest of the Coven shuffled and glanced at one another, awaiting the next decision.
Harriet sighed as she peered down at the mist shrouded lake and snow covered woods below, seeing nothing in the vicinity to indicate a settlement or wizarding facility of some sort. She had to remind herself that this was only the second day of searching the entire country of Wales, and she hoped that the Order was having better luck searching for the other facilities around Britain.
“Right... well, I suppose it would be best to set up camp down by the lake before it gets too dark,” said Harriet.
“Sounds great, I’m bloody freezing,” said Dora, her voice muffled by the long woolen scarf wrapped around her face.

~o0o~
If one were looking from the outside, all they might have seen would be what looked like a perfectly ordinary, pale-blue two person tent, covered in snow, near a copse of trees by the lake. They would have been very surprised if they had managed to open the flap and peer inside, for they would have seen what appeared to be at first glance, eight perfectly ordinary teenage schoolgirls of varying ages, on holiday in a tent large enough to fit at least twenty lying down.
Sleeping bags were piled on four large mattresses at the rear of the tent, and towards the front was a large rectangular wooden table with two attached wooden benches - big enough to seat ten comfortably, five to a side. In between the table and the mattresses was a brazier filled with warm, smokeless blue flames.
Five of the girls were snuggled cozily on the mattresses, chatting in low tones, listening to a boom-box, and occasionally giggling. The other three girls were sitting hunched over one end of the table, poring over a grid map.
“You can cross off all of those squares Harriet,” the girl with bushy tawny-brown hair said brightly. “We’ve apparated through all of that region and checked it thoroughly with spells, the compass, and Jennifer’s mobile phone and Walkman...”
“Yeah... that just leaves a few hundred squares to go Hermione!” Harriet retorted in a weary, vaguely sarcastic tone. “Blimey - this could take us weeks!” she concluded with a sigh, giving Hermione an apologetic look.
“Cheer up Love,” said the eldest girl with ash-brown hair. “We shouldn’t ‘ave to do all of Wales. We’ll hit all of the National Parks and Wilderness areas first, and we’re bound to run across it before we ‘ave to branch out to more traveled countryside and farmland...”
“Dora’s right, Harriet!” Hermione murmured sympathetically as she hugged and kissed the girl with tumbling black hair and pretty green eyes. “Try not to feel too discouraged.”
“I’m trying... I know you’re both right!” Harriet sighed again. “It’s just... who knows how many muggleborn have been rounded up so far!? I know it’s good that we prepared as best as we could, and learned some more spells and practiced as a Coven, but I wish we hadn’t had to take the time.”
“Well, the Minister didn’t start openly operating her programme until the day after she sent Percy Weasley to Hogwarts with the Unspeakables to arrest Dumbledore,” Hermione replied. “That’s only about four weeks ago. And I think most muggleborn are going to be too sensible to offer themselves up to the Ministry - so they can’t have got too many yet.”
“I hope my dad’s okay,” Dora muttered. “I ‘aven’t spoken to my folks in a good while - not since I quit workin’ for the Ministry - and he’s muggleborn. I shoulda’ asked Dumbledore to have the Order look after him and Mum.”
“Your Mum... she’s Narcissa’s sister isn’t she?” asked Harriet. “Andromeda, the one who Sirius’s mum blasted off the Black family-tree tapestry?”
“Yeah... that’s right Harriet!” Dora nodded.
“I never really thought about it much until Mr Carrow started going on about the pureblood families at school, but I suppose we really are related somehow... by marriage anyway,” said Harriet. “I asked Sirius if Charlus Potter and Dorea Black were my grandparents when I spotted the Potter name on the Black Family Tapestry. But apparently Charlus Potter was a first cousin of my grandfather, Fleamont Potter, so Dorea Black isn’t technically my blood relative, but still...”
Hermione’s eyes widened. She recalled Harry asking Sirius about it, but hadn’t given it much thought either.
“Is that right? I never really looked at that tapestry hard enough to notice the Potter name,” Dora’s eyebrows popped up in surprise. “I suppose that does make us cousins - or cousins in-law? ... is that a thing? I dunno really. Past first cousins, I can never keep that sorta thing straight... too bloody complicated!”
“I suppose that means that Draco Malfoy was sort of related to you too then, Harriet,” said Hermione.
“Er...” Harriet gulped. She really hadn’t given her family tree much thought beyond her father and mother until very recently. “Yeah... I guess so Hermione! Urgh! That’s bloody disgusting!” Harriet muttered in horror, her face reddening as it fell. “I can’t believe it... first I’m related to Voldemort, and now Malfoy?”
Hermione grinned and threw her arms around Harriet and planted a big kiss on her lips.
“Harriet, I’d love you no matter who you were related to!” said Hermione earnestly, giving Harriet half a dozen more kisses for good measure.
“We’d all still love you Harriet!” said Dora, giving the younger girl a hug too.
“Thanks! I needed that! I just hope I’m not somehow related to Minister Umbridge too!” said Harriet, making a gruesome face and sticking her tongue out. Feeling much better, Harriet looked at the map again, her eyes catching a familiar place-name.
“Huh! Godric’s Hollow isn’t that far away really,” Harriet muttered, a distant look in her eyes. “It’s in Gloucestershire, the other side of the Welsh border - just a couple hundred kilometres south-east of our current location...”
Looking at the map to see for herself, Hermione couldn’t help but notice that Jennifer’s home in Dorset was actually much closer to Godric’s Hollow than where they were at the moment in Wales. It became apparent to Hermione that seeing the town on a map for what might be the first time was hitting Harriet pretty hard, no doubt tempting her to go off-mission.
Hermione bit her lip and furrowed her brow, concerned that Harriet’s improved mood was evaporating again. There was one thing that Hermione knew would put Harriet in a more lasting good mood, but in the tent with the others there really wasn’t any privacy. And given the snowdrifts piling up outside the tent, finding a quiet spot in the woods wasn’t an option either. Still, Harriet was usually responsive to the next best thing.
“Come on,” said Hermione, taking Harriet’s arm, “That’s enough of that for now...”
Hermione tenderly pressed her lips to Harriet’s, hoping to distract her. It seemed to be working. In no time, Hermione was snuggled up with Harriet under a sleeping bag, both of them sighing contentedly as they watched the dancing blue flames in the brazier and listened to Jennifer’s boombox with the others.
The wind picked up and howled through the valley, turning the snowfall into a blizzard, driving the snow against the rippling fabric of the little tent near the copse of trees by the remote lake. The trees began to sway, limbs whipping as strong gusts swept snow across the half-frozen surface of the lake.
If one were looking from the outside, they might have seen the pale-blue tent glowing with the light which indicated that the occupants inside were weathering the snowstorm in perfect warmth and safety. But one would be very unlikely to see or notice such a thing even if one were walking very near the tent.
Indeed, even a wizard would have missed the sight, because the little camp bravely enduring the bitterly cold weather was well-warded with every Concealing and Protection Charm the witches inside could think of.

~o0o~
The third day of searching had been just as fruitless as the first, and Harriet had been forced to concede that it would be better to split into two smaller teams to cover more ground. But by the end of the fourth day of looking in the woods which the Coven was currently searching, all thoughts of continuing the search in separate units had been abandoned.
It was nearly midday when Fleur, Daphne, Dora, and Jennifer came across the little village. Though even the term village was perhaps a bit too grandiose to describe the small community, which was little more than a grouping of about thirty cottages on the outskirts, surrounding a village centre which was no more than a dozen terraced-houses, a church, some offices, a tiny schoolhouse, and a few little shops.
Snow was falling again, though not as heavily as it had the day before. Everything was otherwise still and quiet. There were no slushy tire tracks in the road, no footprints on the pavements, no sign that anyone had recently traveled to work or school.
“Where is everyone?” said Daphne curiously as they waded through the snow covering the cobbled pavement and peered into the window of the local druggist. “I mean, it’s not like everyone’s snowed in...”
“Maybe everyone’s in the church?” suggested Dora.
“Maybe,” Jennifer frowned apprehensively, glancing at the few empty vehicles at the side of the road. “But it’s the middle of the week...”
“I do not like this! Ees too quiet,” murmured Fleur, shivering from a little chill which had absolutely nothing to do with the frosty temperature.
“Well, surely there’s someone minding the Grocers,” Dora said brightly, hoping to raise everyone’s spirits. “Why don’t we find something for lunch then?”
The others nodded and murmured their agreement, stepping carefully around icy patches as Dora led them to the little village grocery. A bell tinkled when Dora pushed open the door and entered the shop. One by one, Jennifer, Fleur, and Daphne stepped under the icicle laden eaves and followed her inside.
“That’s funny, the dates on these labels are a few days old,” said Jennifer as she peered at the ready-made sandwiches through the glass of the refrigerator window. “I suppose they should still be alright though... just a bit stale.”
As Dora grabbed some bags of bacon flavoured crisps and Fleur picked through fruit looking for the best apples and oranges, Daphne walked to the rear of the shop where she spied the fridge containing fizzy drinks, next to the storage room door which was slightly ajar. A low groaning sound caught her attention, and she heard shuffling footsteps.
Probably just the shopkeeper, she thought, reaching for a bottle of Coke. The muggle drink was relatively new to Daphne, but she had decided that she quite liked it.
“Does anyone else want a Coke?” she called out to the others.
“Oh... yeah! I’d love one... Thanks!” said Dora.
“Yes please!” Jennifer replied.
“Do zey have any lemon-ginger fizzes?” Fleur asked, glancing around nervously, as another wave of trepidation came over her.
“I’ll see...” began Daphne, turning back to have a look.
Daphne gave a start when the door of the store-room swung out a bit further. A mottled grey hand - fingers sticky with a dark reddish brown substance - gripped her arm and she screamed. The bottle of Coke tumbled from Daphne’s hand and shattered on the floor.
Dora, Fleur, and Jennifer had their wands out in an instant, their eyes widening in horror when they saw the someone tightly clutching Daphne’s wrist and pulling her closer, her mouth wide open as if to bite Daphne.
“Relashio!” yelled Dora.
Daphne stumbled backwards, screaming, shaking with terror as she fell into Jennifer’s arms when the woman released her.
“What are you doing?” Jennifer shrieked at the lurching, moaning figure. “What’s wrong with you?”
“She can’t hear you, Love,” Dora said in a shaky voice as everyone backed up towards the front door of the shop. “She’s dead - that’s an Inferi...”
The woman lumbered forward, arms reaching out again, her face as grey and discoloured as her arms. She appeared bloated, fluids leaking from her sunken eyes. Her mouth and chin were covered in the same dark stickiness which could only be blood, which also appeared to be splattered down the front of the woman’s blouse and skirt. Now that everyone could see the woman clearly, the ragged gaping hole in the side of her neck was more than apparent.
“Zere ees nothing zat can be done for ‘er now zen,” said Fleur thickly, swallowing as a tear trickled down a pale cheek. “R...reducto!”
The staggering corpse lunged as Fleur muttered the spell, disintegrating before it could reach any of them. Shaking with fright, hearts pounding, the foursome stumbled out of the shop back into the snow, slipping on icy patches, all thoughts of lunch forgotten.
“D...D’you think the wh...whole v...village is dead then?” stammered Jennifer, blinking back tears.
“Some mighta got away,” said Dora, peering at the partially snow covered vehicles again. “But it’s a very small town... who’s to say?”
“But why... why didn’t help come?” asked Daphne, who almost looked ready to cry herself. The idea of everyone being dead too awful to contemplate. What about the children? “Couldn’t... couldn’t they have called for help on those telephone things?”
“Dunno really!” muttered Dora. “Maybe it all happened too quick - nobody knowin’ what was happening before it was too late...”
“We must call Harry,” said Fleur, forgetting momentarily that Harry was still Harriet. “Eef village is all dead.... there could be more of those things. Zey cannot be allowed to run amok!”
“Yeah... yeah of course Fleur,” Dora responded, fumbling for her mirror as she tried to keep herself together. “We should do a thorough search - look for any survivors - and make sure all the Inferi are destroyed. We’ll need all hands on deck for that.”
Moments later four apparition cracks echoed in the village centre.
“Bloody Hell!” Harriet swore when Dora told her everything. Hermione’s features were ashen; Luna and Parvati gaped in horror.
“Yeah... that about describes it...” Dora muttered sardonically.
“We’d better go house to house then,” said Harriet, her face stony and her voice grim, “And we’re all sticking together this time,” she continued adamantly. “If we just find one or two of them, Reductors will be good enough. But if we’re swarmed, we’ll try Patronuses... I suppose we’ll finally find out if yours will work like mine and Hermione’s.”
“Alright Harriet!” Hermione nodded, “Let’s start with the Grocery then, make sure there’s nobody still in there, and work our way outward...”
The sight in the Grocer’s storeroom was dreadful, and the stench of death awful, turning everyone’s stomachs. Daphne didn’t know how she could have missed the smell, which had surely been wafting through the slightly ajar door while she was getting drinks. She took one look before running back into the main part of the store and emptying the contents of her stomach on the floor, heaving several times.
Blood spattered the faded yellow walls of the storeroom, and the floor was still slippery where the blood of the other victim was still puddled too deeply to have dried yet. The other victim’s body had clearly been too badly mutilated to be lumbering around and infecting others with the Contagion Curse.
Much of the flesh had been eaten away, and a leg gnawed off, the head dismembered from the rest of the body. But what remained twitched convulsively on the floor. Harriet grit her teeth, trying very hard not to throw up as she disintegrated the main part of the corpse while Dora and Hermione took care of the separated leg and head.
They spent the afternoon together exploring the entire village, finding nobody alive. Every member of the Coven was called upon to disintegrate tens of victims who were too mangled to chase them, and also to vaporise more than a few Inferi who staggered in their direction, seeking fresh blood to feast on.
Cautiously entering the church, the Coven found the worst scene they had come across yet, pieces of undead corpses twitching on the floor, blood everywhere, and nearly twenty badly mutilated members of the congregation lurching towards them.
“Patronuses!” yelled Harriet.
At her direction everyone uttered the incantation as one. The victims of the Inferius Curse withered and blackened, groans becoming screeches, their flesh turning to ash as their skeletons stilled forever and clattered to the floor.
Despite their success at the church, Harriet felt disappointed; it had been impossible to tell if anyone else’s Patronus had worked as hoped, due to the fact that everyone’s Patroni had all been directed at the same group in a confined space. Hermione reckoned they would need a much larger group of Inferi (or Dementors) that was more spread out to be really be sure.
As bad as the tableau at the church had been, the scene at the schoolhouse proved even more devastating. Parvati jumped and shrieked when a little hand reached through the metal bars of the fence railing surrounding the school. Luna peered at the little girl on the other side of the railing with a puzzled look. The extremely pale girl with bluish lips just stood there in the snow, staring, with no obvious injuries.
“Hello,” said Luna to the girl after a moment of silence. “Are you alright? We just want to help you.”
“Is... is she alive then?” asked Parvati, her heart still pounding like a jackhammer.
“I theenk per’aps not,” said Fleur, pointing behind the girl. Everyone had been so focused on the little girl, they hadn’t noticed the pink patches of snow on the ground near her. By all appearances the patches seemed to be blood under fresh layers of snow.
Suddenly the girl lurched at the bars of the railing, hissing and reaching through once more. Everyone jumped back; Daphne slipped and fell on her backside, breathing in shallow rapid breaths.
As the girl turned her little body to try and reach further through the railing, the reason for her behaviour became more obvious. The back of the girl’s blue coat was ragged and torn, stained with blood. Hermione struggled to hold back her tears.
“She... she must have been bitten but got out of the school before she turned,” said Hermione. “There’s a partly opened window there. Maybe she slipped out through it.”
Harriet lifted her wand to use a Reductor, but hesitated. This was much harder to deal with than the others, who had more clearly been walking corpses. There was something about the little girl, her brown eyes, the brown curls - just a bit darker and a bit less yellowy than Hermione’s - peeking out from under her hood. Harriet let out a sob and fell to her knees, lowering her wand.
“I... I can’t,” Harriet gasped. Hermione knelt down beside Harriet to embrace her.
“‘S’alright, I got it Harriet,” Dora murmured, lifting her wand.
“Wait,” said Hermione. “If you use a Reductor, there’ll be nothing left of her... nothing to bury. If she’s got other relatives out there, they’ll never know what happened to her.”
Dora swallowed. Everyone glanced at each other uncomfortably, thinking about the others they had already vaporised. This was wholly unlike shooting spells at Inferi from the top of a castle tower. This time it was up close and personal, seeing the Inferi as Victims in their own homes and places of business, seeing them as people who had lived and been loved, not as Monsters to be put down without a second thought.
Hermione lifted her own wand. “Expecto Patronum,” she muttered, her nostrils flaring with emotion. Moments later, all that remained of the girl was a skeleton in a blue coat as ashes mingled with the falling snow.
Harriet scrambled to her feet with Hermione’s assistance, both of their faces glistened wetly with tears which were freezing to their cheeks. Setting her jaw with resolve, Harriet beckoned the others forth. Carefully they entered the schoolhouse and went from room to room.
It took every ounce of effort, every ounce of Will, for the group to find their best feelings to conjure and maintain their Patronuses under Harry and Hermione’s leadership. Everyone tried directing their own Patronuses at different groups of the undead children, but in the end, Harriet and Hermione were left with the task as only their Patronuses had the desired effects.
Harriet gave up all hope that the Coven would ever be as truly effective as it could be.
Luna raised her eyebrows and shared a look with Parvati. At the earliest opportunity, they both stood off to the side conferring in whispers.
There wasn’t a dry eye in the Coven after the schoolhouse. The others kept an eye out as Harriet and Hermione used their patronuses on the rest of the victims that they came across. At least eight homes at the edge of the village simply appeared empty, looking ransacked as if families had rifled through their belongings for the barest necessities and fled. Harriet slumped miserably onto a sofa in the last house.
“Thank goodness some got away!” sobbed Parvati.
“I hope none of the people who escaped were bitten...” said Luna tearfully.
“But if some got away, surely they would have warned authorities!” Daphne squeaked. “I understand the Ministry not knowing or caring if there weren’t any wizards in the village, but why... why wouldn’t the muggle government send people to mop up?”
“Perhaps it was too small of a community for them to care about?” proffered Dora, not quite believing it herself.
“Maybe they all voted the wrong way in the last election,” snarled Hermione cynically, dabbing at her tears with a hanky before trying to shake off that horrible thought. “But that doesn’t really explain why the government wouldn’t want to put them down once they’d all ‘turned,’ like they have when Inferi attacked other communities in Britain...”
“Ees not like you and Harriet already say? Per’aps ze muggle government leaves a few around to create terror, but zey cannot ‘ave too many in more populated areas,” Fleur mused aloud. “What better than jus’ to ‘ave a few roaming ze countryside where there are not so many people, but just enough to frighten everyone else...”
“Yeah...” Harriet nodded. “Yeah, that does seem most likely. The PM probably only calls the Minister to fix things when there’s too many of them for muggles to deal with without burning everything to the ground. The Ministry is probably keeping track of the ones they know about to make sure there aren't too many.”
“We’d probably better search the surroundin’ area too,” said Dora, “...make sure there aren’t any more of ‘em.”
“I was thinking the same thing,” Harriet remarked sadly as everyone nodded. “We’d better get to it while it’s still daylight then. I don’t want to be doing this after dark...”
As the snow continued to steadily fall, the Coven went back to work, combing the surrounding woods carefully. They spent the last few hours of the afternoon searching, and were slightly cheered when they found no more Inferi.
Just before dusk, they apparated to the area located on the next square on the grid-map, and set up the tent under some snow covered yews near a stream after doing a sweep to make sure that there were no Inferi lurking in the new area to be explored.
Somber and shivering, the Coven hung up their snow covered parkas once inside the tent, and huddled together wrapped in soft blankets and robes next to the warm blue flames which Hermione conjured in the brazier. After they had warmed up a bit, the Coven’s appetite returned finally, as nobody had eaten since breakfast.
“There’s no need to make anything tonight, I’ll just call Dobby,” said Harriet, when Luna started to rummage in one of the bags for some food. “We should just try and rest up - today was horrible.”
Harriet felt a bit less miserable when a gleeful Dobby appeared - it was nice to see a happy face. Half an hour later everyone dug into the delicious meals which Dobby had prepared. Having sensed the gloomy mood, the happy house-elf had provided each of them their favourite comfort foods.
“Thanks Dobby, that’s absolutely fantastic,” said Harriet with a blissful expression as she took a bite of the mouthwatering shepherd’s pie. “You deserve another raise....”
“Oh, no Master... er... Mistress Harry,” Dobby replied cheerfully. “Dobby is not knowing what to do with all the riches which Mistress Harry already provides!”
Harriet was pleased when Hermione and Fleur nearly spat out their coq au vin in snorts of laughter and the rest of the Coven couldn't help bursting into giggles at Dobby’s confusion. After dinner, Harriet took a chance and morphed back into Harry form. Soon everyone was snuggled in a heap inside sleeping bags and under some enlarged blankets, as close together as possible to ward off the nightmares.

~o0o~
Albus Dumbledore whirled around, his gaudy robes billowing, flames lancing from his wand and engulfing the group of roughly fifty lumbering, moaning Inferi which he had lured into a rocky gully. Snape and Moody blasted several who tried to escape with Reductors. The three of them stood watch as the rest burned, making sure that none of the flaming Inferi could run off to start a wildfire or escape destruction by smothering the flames with snow.
Night was upon them, and they were beyond the outskirts of a tiny village in Cumbria, near the wild area where they had been searching for one of the Ministry’s facilities. Dumbledore was relieved when Remus and Sirius called him to report that the villagers all appeared to be safe and sound, though he felt a deep sense of loss for the poor souls of the victims of the Contagion Curse in the gully.
“Bellatrix’s handiwork I expect,” said Snape coldly as he disintegrated another escaping Inferi.
“Indeed,” Dumbledore nodded, stroking his long silvery beard which was glowing orange in the light of the blazing inferno below.
Dumbledore glanced at Severus, grateful for his presence, but not quite able to keep a hint of concern from crossing his features. Snape looked up and saw the flicker of orange flame in Dumbledore’s blue eyes.
“You didn’t think that I’d be any more contented than Potter and his friends to remain safely hidden behind the walls of Narcissa’s estate while the world turns to ash around me, did you Headmaster?” Severus asked wryly, lifting his eyebrows.
“No... I suppose not!” Dumbledore chuckled.

~o0o~
Breathlessly she stumbled through the doorway as her heart pounded in her ears, beads of cold sweat dripping from her forehead. She was in another room that she didn’t recognise, hopelessly lost. Flinging open the next door with a bang, she heard the grunts and moans of the horde approaching, the stench of rotting flesh unbearable. She ran down the unknown corridor, hoping it would lead to escape.
Her foot caught on the ragged edge of a hole in the threadbare carpet, sending her tumbling to the floor, skinning her knee. She struggled to get back to her feet but an oppressive weight seemed to be holding her down. Panic set in when she realised that they were in the corridor now; she rolled over to face the approaching Dead and fumbled in her robes for a wand which she couldn’t find.
The lurching corpses were upon her, viscera spilling from their middles, blood drooling from their gaping maws. Despite the skin peeling from its rotting flesh, there was no mistaking the walking corpse holding her down - it was Draco Malfoy, his leering features still all too recognisable, the killing gash across his neck dripping blood onto her face.
She couldn’t stop screaming as more and more of the Undead piled on top, grabbing at her arms and legs with cold grey hands, tearing into her with their teeth.
“Ssssh... it’s alright Daphne... they’re not here... they’re not here...” murmured a gentle voice. “You’re safe.... I promise! Ssh...”
As she shook violently with fright, Daphne realised that the arms around her were comforting, the bodies against her soft and warm. Tender lips pressed wetly against her own, the scent of breath sweet and fresh, and as Daphne’s nightmare faded she realised that they were Jennifer’s.
Daphne’s trembling began to ebb under Jennifer’s consoling caresses and kisses. Someone dabbed the cold sweat on her forehead with a soft cloth and she looked up to see Harry’s worried green eyes and messy black hair, and Hermione’s anxious face framed by tumbling ringlets.
“We’re all here Daphne... we won’t let them take you...” said Hermione, wrapping her arms around Daphne.
Everyone offered Daphne hugs. As she settled back down in the midst of her friends, Daphne couldn’t help but feel safe and warm in the embrace of the Coven, knowing that they all loved her.
“Thanks guys,” Daphne murmured with a little smile as she burrowed back inside the large sleeping bag with Jennifer. “I feel loads better now!”
Jennifer curled an arm around Daphne’s waist, snuggling against her back. She leaned over and took Daphne’s lips with her own for a deep soulful kiss. Daphne rolled over to face Jennifer and return her embrace. Daphne could hear the others settling inside their own sleeping bags and under covers and sighed contentedly. Slowly but surely, Daphne drifted into a peaceful sleep.

~o0o~
Though her terror had been perhaps the most profound, having actually been briefly in the clutches of an Inferius, Daphne wasn't the only one feeling unsettled that night. Fleur had lain awake long after Daphne and most of the others had fallen asleep earlier that evening.
Fleur had been unable to get the image of the youngest victims of the Contagious version of the Inferius Curse out of her mind. She knew that there was nothing she could have done for the little ones, once dead. But surely, there must be a way to counter the curse carried by the bites of the Inferi before it took hold and killed the victim, passing along the curse from one to the next.
Fleur had still been awake, her mind churning ceaselessly, when Daphne had begun quaking in her sleep and woken with a scream.
Harry had been beyond disturbed himself; the same gruesome images that haunted the minds of the others were in his as well, the same heaviness on his heart. But he put his own fears and grief aside to focus on those he loved. He’d had more than his share of horrifying nightmares in the past, but those had been muted by time.
The little girl at the school had triggered a strong reaction in him. Harry was having much difficulty clearing the image of the living-dead-Hermione from his mind. And being forced to put down the Cursed children they had come across in the schoolhouse was taking its toll as well.
But Daphne and Hermione and the rest of Coven - seeing to them was more important than his own anxieties right now. After helping settle Daphne, Harry had given Hermione a hug and a kiss before lying back down next to his wife.
“Are you alright Harry?” Hermione whispered as he cuddled up behind her, sensing him trying to squash his own trepidation to be strong for everyone else.
“I will be,” murmured Harry in reply as he nuzzled Hermione’s neck and gently stroked her hair. “How about you?”
Harry trailed little kisses from her neck to her lips, feeling comforted by her warm presence and minty aroma. His arm around Hermione’s waist, Harry could feel her beginning to relax.
“Mmmm... That’s nice!” Hermione sighed after a moment, feeling much better herself as she sensed Harry unwinding.
Dora had seen some horrible things during her stint as an Auror, but nothing like what she had seen that day. She’d had trouble falling asleep herself, but had just dozed off, cuddled up with Fleur, when Daphne’s screams had brought her back instantly, gasping in momentary panic.
As she settled into Fleur’s comforting embrace, a flicker of rage burned deep inside Dora, knowing that her Aunt Bellatrix was behind the new strain of Inferi, but she struggled against the fury, unwilling to be consumed by it.
For her part, Jennifer felt a sense of tranquility supplant her own feelings of dread as she snuggled next to Daphne. Surprised at herself and conflicted, Jennifer felt a surge of joy after their day of horror. Perhaps it was having so recently been able to put the death of her parents behind her. Jennifer wasn’t really certain; all she really knew was that as long she was alive and that she had someone to love, she could be happy.
Luna couldn’t help but be reminded by the Inferi of witnessing her mother’s death in a horrible spell accident. She had always done her best to take a philosophical view of things, not always as successfully as she would have liked. But ever since she had discovered friendship and love with Ginny and those with her, Luna felt that she had come to terms with Death. Luna had people that she loved, and that was all that mattered.
Luna sensed that seeing the Inferi up close had brought back everything that Parvati hated about Mummies, a stark reminder that one day Death would come for them all. But it was obvious to Luna that Parvati was trying very hard not to show it.
“It’s alright to be sad Parvati,” whispered Luna as she took Parvati’s hand and squeezed it comfortingly. “But we’re never really gone, even after we die.”
“Do you really believe that?” Parvati asked quietly.
“Sometimes I see Mum... in my dreams,” Luna replied with a serene smile. “I know that dreams aren’t always real - but sometimes they are too. Sometimes I know that she’s talking to me from the other side...”
Parvati smiled tearfully.
“I’d like to believe that,” she said. “Mum and Dad have some books from India at home that say the same sorts of things - they talk about the cycles of life and death. Some of them say that life is an illusion - that the world beyond is more real...
“I suppose that’s why I was interested in Divination before. I’m not so sure anymore... And to tell the truth, I’ve been feeling a bit unsure about it for a while, what with Trelawny going on and on about Harry’s death all the time. This feels real to me... holding your hand, being able to touch you! I never want to lose that.”
Luna blushed slightly as her smile broadened, thinking about the arrangement she’d made with Ginny and Parvati earlier that evening on their hushed mirror-call as she considered Parvati’s words.
“I think it’s all real,” said Luna finally. “Just on different levels. I mean... even if it’s just in your head, your head is real - right? It doesn’t mean everything is the same sort of real at this very moment in this particular time and space... from this side of things, the other side might look like an illusion... and when we’re on the other side, maybe this side does.
“And if something’s conceivable, then it has to exist somewhere... somehow... even if it’s in another dimension or universe with a different set of rules,” Luna continued, “I think that after death... maybe... we just cross over to another dimension... maybe even live different lives - multiple lives in multiple realities - and somehow communicate still with those we’ve temporarily left behind.
“But one thing I feel very strongly, is that when you really Love someone, they’ll be connected to you no matter where they are - that Life will always find a way - that Death is as temporary as Life appears to be.
“I think there are cycles of life and death - and that our souls will go on and meet each other again someday. But for now, we should live in the moment... and make the most of the lives we’re leading right now.
“It doesn’t really do to dwell too much on the past or the far-flung future - just enough so that we see where we’re coming from and where we’re going to - because you’re right Parvati - what we’re experiencing right now is the most important bit really!”
“You’re so smart Luna,” Parvati grinned, suddenly feeling much better.
“Well, I am in Ravenclaw...” giggled Luna.
Hermione smiled and sighed happily as she listened to Luna and Parvati’s quiet conversation. Parvati was right; Luna was as brilliant as she was sweet and bluntly honest. Hermione felt at peace, a luminous glow within keeping the darkness she had witnessed at bay. At one time, like Luna and Harry, she had been all alone and friendless, but she and Harry had found each other, and taught each other what it really meant to be in love.
And now - after gradually finding others to share their lives with - Hermione and Harry had more friendship and love in their lives than either of them could have ever imagined before coming to Hogwarts and meeting one another.
No longer alone, Hermione knew that she and Harry had the friends and family they had both always dreamed of, and that she would do anything for every last one of them. Death would never keep them apart; each of them a beacon of light in the dark, they would always find one another.
She could hear the snow blowing around the tent, the sound mingling with the soft snores and quiet breathing of the Coven as slumber eventually took them all once more.
AN:
@ Wildstorm: Thank you! ... :-) ...I'll try to keep the chapters coming fairly regularly,
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Moments in Love