Breakfast at 12 Grimmauld Place was an excruciating affair. It all started when Harry walked in to the kitchen. Many of the members of the Order who had congregated to enjoy Molly Weasley's cooking glared at him disapprovingly. Harry couldn't have said that he was surprised by the reaction. Having a fifteen year-old point out your glaring failures to you was never going to go down well with the average wizard. Hell, it probably wouldn't go down well with any adult. Harry only hoped that they would adjust their modus operandi in response to what he had said, not that they would suddenly like him. The younger guests were a lot more friendly, Ginny even excessively so. She had run up to him the moment she saw him and tried to kiss him full on the mouth. Harry turned his head to the side so her lips landed on his cheek.
"Ginny! What the hell?" He pushed the redhead away from him and looked at her incredulously. Did she really think that was the best way to cheer him up after he had just been dumped? Ginny looked confused for a moment before rallying her expression. She clasped her hands down by her waist and squeezed her upper arms together in what looked like an effort to show off her developing breasts. This was coupled with a look on her face that made her look innocent as could be.
"I was just saying good morning, Harry. Well, that and trying to cheer you up a bit." Harry almost didn't hear what she said as the realization set in that the note had not been written by someone else. In fact it looked like little Ginny was damn well aware of what those biscuits had been laced with.
"I'm not really in the mood to be cheered up, Gin." Harry said, struggling not scream out his frustration. His hormones really were making it difficult to control his temper. He couldn't afford to lose it; not before he had given Kreacher a chance to gather the necessary information.
The moment Harry sat down a full English breakfast appeared before him and Mrs. Weasley was up in arms over someone else using her kitchen and berated Harry for tucking in with gusto. She tried to force a plate of her own cooking in front of him but Harry suggested that she give it to someone else as he was already served.
"Harry, dear, that food is just not safe. It was made by the house elf here and he is a miserable little creature. You never know what he might have put in there." Harry was now including everyone at Grimmauld Place in his suspicions and this mention of something being put in his food really got under his skin. Right now Kreacher was probably the safest cook in the house, bar himself.
The cherry on the cake though was when Weasley and Hermione came in looking thoroughly mussed. Hermione was hanging all over Weasley as they sat down and was even sprayed with bits of food from the carnage next to her. When she didn't once complain and instead looked on with fond indulgence Harry almost felt his breakfast come back up. He managed to stay seated until Hermione started eating her own food. He hoped that with all the attention on him Kreacher had managed to discover something. He stood up abruptly leaving his partially eaten breakfast. As he did, Kreacher popped in looking distressed.
"Was breakfast not to the Good Young Master's liking?" Harry couldn't let the little guy think this was somehow his fault, no matter how badly he wanted to get out of there.
"Breakfast was excellent, Kreacher. Thank you very much for making it for me. I've just lost my appetite." Harry reassured the elf. He could see something darken in Kreacher's eyes.
"Kreacher will preserve the rest for when Good Young Master is less distracted from his meal." Harry could only smile at the typical house elf offer. They were always taking care of others and Harry couldn't help but love them for it.
"Thank you, Kreacher." Harry said before a giggle from Hermione sent him from the kitchen at a near run. The Order members who had met Kreacher were nonplussed at Harry's easy rapport with the elf. As soon as the young wizard had disappeared the ancient elf turned a glare on the rest of the people in the kitchen and popped out with the remains of Harry's breakfast.
Harry stormed up the stairs to the library. As much as he suspected that Hermione wasn't acting this way of her own accord, it still hurt to see them like that. In the library he selected a few books on curse breaking and continued on to his room. When he got up there he slammed the door shut behind him and fired of his usual Silencing and Locking Charms before he collapsed in the desk chair. Harry closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. That had been harder than he had anticipated.
"Kreacher." he called; might as well get this over with. Kreacher popped in and looked Harry up and down critically.
"Is the young master wanting Kreacher to bring him the rest of his breakfast now?" Kreacher's tone implied that there was something very wrong with a young wizard not finishing his breakfast.
"Not right now, Kreacher. Did anyone try to slip me a potion this morning?" Kreacher looked a little put out that the breakfast conversation was on hold.
"Fat, red blood-traitor tries to poison Good Young Master. Kreacher will make sure she never cooks for the Good Young Master again." Harry's heart broke, nearly as badly as it had when he had heard that Ron had known about the dragons. Mrs. Weasley was someone he had looked to as a mother-figure in his previous life. Some of the lustre had worn off with her howler in response to his relationship but it still cut him that she would do this. He tried to focus on what this meant for his response. Ignore how it makes you feel. Ignore the fact that you once cared for them. What will you do? That was the million galleon question. He couldn't approach her or Mr. Weasley for any help in dealing with their children if they were in on it. Of course he could solve his troubles by simply leaving but before he could he needed to know one more thing. The problem was that he was afraid to ask the question and even more afraid of hearing the answer. Harry wasn't sure just which answer he was hoping for.
"Was anyone else given any potions?" He asked the question quickly, as if he was ripping off a plaster. Kreacher's response was unexpectedly gentle.
"Fat, red blood-traitor gives the mudblood the same potions she tries to give the Good Young Master." Harry nearly collapsed with the relief that he hadn't been completely wrong about Hermione. She wasn't the kind of cold-hearted bitch who would play with someone like that. The relief was extremely muted as it also meant that Hermione was in very real danger of essentially being raped. He barely remembered to ask if anyone else was being influenced and the negative answer was almost meaningless to him except that it let him focus on helping the girl he loved.
"Kreacher, I need these ingredients as quickly as possible as well as the equipment. Take any money you need from my Gringotts vault." Harry handed Kreacher a list and the elf bowed and was about to pop away when Harry held up his hand. "Once you have completed that task I want you to watch over Hermione. If it looks like Weasley is going to hurt her, do whatever it takes to stop him." Kreacher looked like he might object for a moment before nodding and popping out.
With a sigh Harry allowed his body to go completely limp for a moment. She might not hate me. The danger Hermione was in solidified Harry's resolve like almost nothing else could and he got up and grabbed the potions book Kreacher had brought last night. He opened it to a page he had bookmarked and started reviewing the proper procedure for brewing a Purging Potion. He had just gotten to the step where the Wiggentree twigs were added when he heard a knock at his door. Harry looked at the door suspiciously; he was sure he had used a Silencing Charm on it.
"Harry? Can I come in and talk to you for a moment?" Sirius voice came through the door. Harry supposed that he couldn't really lock himself away without expecting someone to come looking for him. Besides, Sirius knew that Harry and Hermione had been dating and after the display at breakfast he might think Harry wanted someone to talk to.
"Come on in, Sirius." Harry called firing an Unlocking Charm at the door. Sirius came in accompanied by a streak of orange.
"Crookshanks." Harry murmured as the cat leapt onto his lap. Crookshanks butted his head into Harry's hand in an effort to get it scratched. As Harry subconsciously obliged he turned his eyes back to Sirius.
Once the Marauder was inside he had reapplied the Locking and Silencing Charms before Harry could. At Harry's questioning look Sirius said "I imagine you had a reason to have the charms up." Harry just nodded. He was perfectly willing to wait for Sirius to get to the point and didn't expect it to take the generally restless man long. He was right.
"I wanted to ask you how you were feeling." Sirius began sounding incredibly uncomfortable. At Harry's cocked eyebrow he rushed to continue. "I mean, getting thrown over for your best mate like that has to hurt and I wanted to know how you're holding up." Harry started a little at his godfather's tactlessness and Sirius seemed to notice this.
"Look, Harry, that may not have been the best way to put it, but something is clearly wrong with you. You're studying Potions, for Godric's sake!" Harry was in a bit of a bind. Sirius was clearly worried but Harry wasn't sure if he should just come clean and tell Sirius about the potions. Actually, to be honest, he was desperate to tell the man all about it. Harry was carrying enough burdens that he couldn't share. This was something he could and would frankly love some help with. Finally he decided that if he couldn't trust Sirius that the situation here was so dire that he might as well just kidnap Hermione and leave the wizarding world to drown in their own filth.
"I'm not studying Potions on a whim, Sirius." Harry was a little confused at the disappointed look on Sirius' face.
"Harry, no matter how good the relationship was, you can't use love potions to try and win her back." Harry's face went decidedly stony at the implied accusation.
"I wasn't planning on getting Hermione back with a love potion, thank you very much. I was planning on getting her back with the Purging Potion." Harry couldn't keep the icy tone out of his voice. He couldn't believe that Sirius thought he would stoop to the level of the people who had done this to Hermione. Harry could see the exact moment his comment started making sense to his godfather. Sirius face had turned thunderous.
"Ron is using a love potion on Hermione?" Harry appreciated Sirius' instant outrage on Hermione's behalf but hadn't forgotten the beginning of the conversation.
"Actually she's under a love potion, a hate potion and Gregory's Unctuous Unction and, while I'm pretty sure Ron knows, this morning it was Molly Weasley who tried to feed us potions and succeeded in Hermione's case. Last night I received a plate of potion laced biscuits with a note from Ginny as well." Sirius leapt up and strode towards the door only to stiffen and fall over. Harry levitated the man he had placed under a Full Body-Bind back to his chair. "Stop. Unless you have a Purging Potion ready to hand, and I know you don't or Kreacher would have fetched it for me, you charging out there is going to do nothing but harm." Sirius' eyes looked mutinous.
"Kreacher is currently fetching me the things I need to brew this potion. It will be difficult enough to get it to Hermione without you tipping the bastards off. If I can control myself, you damn well should be able to as well." Sirius was only looking slightly less mutinous and Harry sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose in an attempt to alleviate some of the tension that was starting to cause him a headache. "What were you planning to do anyway? Scream at them? Throw them out of the house?" Judging by the look in Sirius' eyes at least one of those guesses was spot on.
"If you throw them out what will Hermione in her current state do?" He waited a moment to let that sink in. "She would go with them in support of her boyfriend. Similarly, if you let on that you know, Hermione will not believe you but she will probably become suspicious of any potions coming from us. I'm hoping she isn't so far gone that she's done anything she can't take back, but these potions are designed to steal a person's capacity for rational thought and if we push her, she might do something she'll regret for the rest of her life. If nothing else she might want to prove that her relationship with that shit-stain is 'real'." Sirius eyes finally looked like he had understood and was in control of himself again so Harry released the spell. "After she's safe we can go after the traitors, but not before." It was quiet between them for several minutes before Sirius spoke again.
"Any idea what you're going to do to them yet?" Harry shook his head.
"I've been a little preoccupied, Padfoot. Besides, all I had before breakfast was a suspicion due to some laced biscuits." Harry wasn't about to admit that he also had memories of Ron and Hermione in a relationship in the future muddying the waters. He was starting to have some suspicions about how that had come about after what he had learnt though. "If it wasn't for Kreacher helping out I never would have gotten that confirmation without going to war with the Order." Sirius remembered an evening getting drunk with Minnie as she told him about watching a memory of Harry Potter taking on the Dark Lord and roughly thirty of his Death Eaters after being subjected to the Cruciatus Curse multiple times. He remembered what she told him about the amount of damage Harry had done then while trying to get away. He carefully looked at the young man across from him who was positively radiating power and dangerous levels of determination. Finally, he also remembered that Harry had gotten the drop on Moony, Tonks and Mad-Eye just outside of the Order's Fidelius Charmed Headquarters before showing a level of knowledge about their activities that nobody should have had. All in all Harry going to war with the Order, by himself, might be a quicker death sentence than taking on You Know Who and his Death Eaters in a pitched battle. If it was to protect Hermione then he didn't think even Dumbledore would be able to turn the tide.
"Speaking of the little crapbubble, how did you and he become so chummy?" Harry shot Sirius a stern look.
"For starters, I didn't call him a 'little crapbubble' but treated him like a person. Secondly, I helped him with an order from his former Master that he couldn't manage on his own. Finally, I don't assume he is evil or whatever your problem with him is. He is actually a pretty nice guy and an extremely loyal elf if you give him a reason to be." Sirius was gaping at Harry.
"He's a little pure-blood bigot!" Sirius shouted, making Harry glad they had reapplied the Silencing Charm.
"Actually, I would say he has remained loyal to your parents and their views. He has shown that he is changing though. He has stopped caring about my status as a half-blood already. I think if we give him time and a reason he will come around." Harry answered his godfather. When he saw Sirius angrily open his mouth he said. "Look, I understand that you have a lot of unpleasant memories of him, but that is no reason to dismiss him as an ally out of hand." Sirius just huffed in response and Harry decided an abrupt change of topic might not be a bad thing.
"So have you heard anything about a trial yet or are the ministry still dragging their collective arse?" It was crude but it worked as Sirius held out for a few seconds before the two men launched into an enjoyable session of insulting the ministry. Kreacher popped in with lunch for the both of them and admonished Harry that this time he was to eat everything before popping out. Harry thought this might have done more for Sirius' views on his family's elf than anything Harry had said. Sirius eventually left some time after lunch and Harry took up the potion's book again. He had no time to waste messing this recipe up and he wanted to get it right in one go.
:-:-:-:-:
When Harry woke up the next morning he saw that Kreacher had left everything needed to start brewing in Harry's room. Since he had convinced Sirius to put out the word that Harry was sulking in his room and would be taking his meals there, Harry would be free to stay in and brew. This was particularly convenient since the potion, like most medical potions, was fiendishly complicated and took a relatively long time to brew; thirty-six hours to be precise. Harry was also glad that he had an en-suite bathroom as it meant that he really didn't have to leave unless he wanted to.
After he had gone through his morning ablutions and finished a very tasty breakfast under Kreacher's watchful eye Harry got started. He set up his equipment and checked the ingredients before prepping them. Since the potion required a lot of simmering, Harry grabbed one of the curse breaking books he had borrowed from the library. He would have liked to spend his time coming up with a suitable revenge against the people who had done this to Hermione and him, but last night taught him that he tended to get stuck on 'where do I hide the bodies?' and murder felt so...pubescent as a punishment. Weasley deserved something special.
:-:-:-:-:
Three days after he had arrived at Grimmauld Place, Harry Potter was in his room looking very satisfied with the vials of electric blue potion that were lined up on his desk. The Purging Potion was finally done. The only thing that remained was to get Hermione to take it. Harry's plan was simple: he would ask Hermione up to his room and then convince her to take the potion. 'If you don't believe that you are under the effects of a potion then this should have no effect on you' sounded like it had potential. The side effects of the potion required that the taker be close to a toilet and preferably a bucket or a lot of cleaning supplies. He also had a backup plan that was even simpler and that he fervently hoped he wouldn't have to use. So it was that Harry left his room for the first time since breakfast on his first morning here and went in search of Hermione. He actually found her by following the sounds of voices to a half open door.
"…which is why it's so interesting." Harry smiled to himself, Hermione had clearly found some new book or piece of knowledge and wanted to share it with as many people as possible.
"Merlin's sweaty sack, Herms! When you said you had something interesting I thought you had finally learned something about Quidditch or something, not read another dumb book." Clearly Weasley was there as well. That presented a bit of a problem. Having the traitor along would prevent Harry from administering the potion.
"No, really, Ron. If you would just give it a chance you would-"
"Not a chance, Herms. Now, are you gonna be joining me tonight, or what?" Shit. I really don't want to hear this.
"Ron! I…I told you I'm not ready for that yet." Harry breathed a sigh of relief as he heard that. It sounded like Hermione was still in control of herself enough that she should come out of this without that scar added in.
"C'mon. It'll be great. I promise." It took everything Harry had not to go in and punch the traitor until nothing was left but a sodden lump.
"I…I don't know…I um." If it looks like she's going to his room with him this is turning into a snatch and grab with as much collateral damage as I can manage. "I…No. I can't." Hermione's voice carried enough force that Harry knew she had found her backbone one last time. It would be enough, he would make sure of that. He heard Weasley make an impatient noise.
"Sometimes I wonder why I bother with this relationship. I'm gonna get an evening snack." Harry retreated quickly and cast a Disillusionment Charm. The traitor came out of the room with a face like a thundercloud. Harry kept himself still through force of will. He noticed that one of the bastard's hands was scratched up rather thoroughly and made a mental note to do something nice for Crookshanks or Kreacher soon.
Once the redhead's footsteps had disappeared down the stairs Harry moved forward to the door again. Looking inside he could see Hermione sitting on a couch crying. He suppressed an urge to go downstairs and take his rage out on the one who had caused it. Hermione first, revenge later. He Disspelled the Disillusionment Charm, stepped in to the doorway and knocked. Hermione's head shot up and she angrily wiped at her cheeks.
"What do you want, Potter?" Harry was shocked to hear how cold her voice sounded.
"I found something in a potions book that I wanted to go over with you." He said. He hoped she would just take the bait and come with him. He knew he stank at lying, especially to her, so he was sticking as close to the truth as he could.
"Really? And what was so important that the great and powerful Boy Who Lived decided to walk among us mortals?" Harry was floundering under the amount of hatred she was putting out. Harry's self-confidence had never been his defining attribute and between that and the physical reaction of his fifteen year-old body he wanted to run away from her but knew that this was likely to be his only chance to help her. It's the potions talking. Just the potions Harry repeated over and over to himself.
"Um…well if you come with me I can show you." The expression on her face was something he hoped never to see again.
"Come with you? To your room I suppose? Do you think I am stupid, Potter? That was the most pathetic attempt at talking a girl into bed that I've ever heard of." Hermione was on her feet now and yelling.
"I wasn't trying to-"
"Yeah right, Potter. What do you take me for?" It's the potions talking. Just the potions. "Just stay away from me from now on, you scrawny little bastard." Hermione pushed past Harry and headed towards the door angrily. She never made it as Harry started 'plan B' and silently stunned her. He winced when her body hit the floor.
"I am so sorry, Mi, but I need to do this." He said as he tapped his wand on her head and watched her fade from view. One more silent spell and Hermione's invisible body floated up and followed along behind Harry as he quickly made his way to his room. Once he got there he deposited Hermione gently on the bed and applied his usual charms to the door before he dragged his desk chair into the bathroom. Next he took the bin that automatically vanished its contents and placed it near the toilet. Coming back into the bedroom he cancelled the Disillusionment Charm on Hermione and took a moment to look at her. She still looked beautiful, even with tear-stained cheeks. He just hoped he wasn't about to destroy whatever good will she still had left for him.
Steeling himself, Harry levitated Hermione into the chair in the bathroom. He thought about it for a second and bound her with conjured ropes before reviving her. It would have been easier to pour the potion down her throat while she was still unconscious but then she would wake up with a Purging Potion running rampant through her body and no idea what was going on. He owed her an explanation or a warning at least.
When Hermione's eyes fluttered open he could see the realization of where she was slowly dawning. When her gaze landed on him he felt her hatred almost as a physical force battering at him. Her first reaction was to let loose an ear-piercing scream for help. When she paused for breath Harry jumped in.
"Please stop screaming, the room has been silenced." For a moment he thought she would scream again.
"That's fairly good planning for a rapist." Hermione bit out. "Let me guess: I rejected you so you're going to take what you want anyway?" Harry just ploughed on with what he was going to say ignoring her barbs as best he could.
"You are under the effects of a potion, Hermione. I've brewed a Purging Potion for you." He pulled a vial of the electric blue potion from his pocket. "Once you drink this your body will force out any and all potions in your system. You will sweat, vomit and, um, defecate as it does so. This will affect literally all potions so if you are on the…on the Contraceptive Potion, you will need to retake it should you still want to be under its protection." At the end of his speech the sneer on Hermione's face hadn't decreased at all.
"Wow, that's some mental gymnastics to satisfy your ego, Potter. A potion is the only reason I don't want you? Keep dreaming and keep that stuff away from me." Hermione clamped her jaws tightly shut. Rather than fight her in an effort to get her to take the potion Harry stunned Hermione, poured the potion down her throat and revived her again. He vanished the ropes binding her and made to leave but before he could he felt a sharp impact on his jaw that caused him to stagger a step. When he looked up to see Hermione he saw that the loathing in her eyes had only increased. She was already starting to sweat and Harry knew the Purging Potion was doing its job.
"The Dursleys were right. You are a disgusting freak." Hermione managed to bite out before she bent over the toilet and threw up everything in her stomach. Harry got out of there before the final method the human body had for getting rid of waste came calling. Once he reached the relative safety of his bedroom, Harry called for Kreacher.
"Kreacher, Hermione has just taken the Purging Potion. Please bring her toiletries and a change of clothes for when it's run its course." Harry asked the old elf. Kreacher didn't look like he liked the order but bowed and said "Yes, Young Master." before leaving to carry out his task. Harry decided to hide in the library until Hermione had returned to her own room.
:-:-:-:-:
It took Hermione the better part of an hour to get everything purged. During that time she was thoroughly miserable and at the end of it she didn't feel much better. Her mouth tasted disgusting and her clothes were soaked through and sticking to her body. Looking around she saw her own toiletries and a change of clothes. Harry must have-…HARRY! Oh no, oh no, ohnonono. What have I done? Hermione slumped back against the wall of the bathroom and drew her knees up to her chest as memories flooded her mind. Memories that looked very different without potions altering her perspective. I have to talk to Harry. I have to apologize.
Hermione was up and moving towards the door before she realized what she was doing. The heavy pull of her sweat soaked clothes brought her back to the here and now. I can't talk to him like this. He'll be utterly disgusted. Hermione was by no means a vain girl, but nobody wants to smell like shit, sweat and sick. Especially not when trying for a favourable impression from someone they have wronged, no matter how unintentionally. Stripping off her clothes and grabbing her shower things she dove into the spray of hot water and set about cleaning herself off.
Half an hour later Hermione felt much refreshed by the shower and brushing her teeth. She had pulled on the clean clothes that had been delivered. When she stepped out into Harry's bedroom she was disappointed to see he wasn't there. Hermione walked over to the door, intent on finding Harry but her hand hovered over the doorknob. If she went out there, there was a very good chance she would run into Weasley. Knowing she had been given potions to fancy him made her very wary of getting anywhere near him. One of the reasons she so wanted to talk to Harry was that she wanted to know what he had learned about the potions she had been given and who had given them to her. Without that information she could easily be trapped again, Harry had proven that it wasn't that hard to force-feed someone potions if you really tried. While she could forgive his methods, especially given what the alternative might have been, it wasn't something she'd want to give someone else a shot at.
After a long internal debate Hermione decided that she'd wait for Harry right there. He would have to return at some point and she'd be able to talk to him. It should also keep her safe as she knew just about everyone in Headquarters avoided Harry's room. Hermione crawled onto the bed, grabbed Harry's pillow and hugged it to her. She was almost shaking with nerves about the upcoming conversation with a boyfriend she had treated very poorly, even if it was under the influence of potions. In an effort to calm herself she prepared by rehearsing as many variations on that conversation as she could imagine. Eventually she realized she was thinking in circles and buried her face in Harry's pillow with a loud groan. Having her face buried in the pillow allowed her to smell Harry's scent and it worked better than anything else had so far at calming her. She kept her face in the pillow and inhaled. It felt like she was being surrounded by Harry; it felt safe. The effects of the stress of purging the potions from her system and her body finally relaxing from that meant that she was asleep with a smile on her face before long, still clutching tightly to the pillow.
:-:-:-:-:
After Harry left the room he headed down towards the library as quietly as possible. Once he got there he found a book on the history of the Wizengamot and settled down on one of the couches available to read on. He cast a Notice-Me-Not Charm around himself to keep from being bothered and settled in to spend some time reading. The hours passed smoothly as Kreacher brought him a cup of hot cocoa and kept it replenished. When a glance at his watch told him it was nearly one in the morning Harry decided that he had been gone long enough to give Hermione a chance to get cleaned up and head back to her room. Putting the book on the shelf where he had found it, Harry left the library to go to bed; he was exhausted after the day he had had.
When he got to his room he opened the door and walked in only to stop in shock. There on his bed, cuddling his pillow, was Hermione. She was fast asleep with a small smile on her face. For a moment he just looked at that smile. It was something he hadn't seen in weeks and he had missed it terribly. Harry was about to walk over to the bed and wake her up when her voice rang through his head. The Dursleys were right. You are a disgusting freak.
His eyes closed in remembered pain. What if she still thinks that? Harry knew the potions had a cumulative effect, becoming stronger the longer they were used but he had no idea how long they had been fed to her. That meant that he had no idea of how much of her vitriol was induced and how much her own honest opinion. Years of the Dursleys' vicious comments seemed to slam into his mind. His body was starting to shake as Vernon's voice seemed to echo in his ears. With a massive effort Harry managed to force the memories down. Gasping for breath he looked back at the bed and the form laying on it. Harry hesitated a moment longer, but couldn't bring himself to face her again, not if there was a chance she really felt like that. With a last longing look at the girl on the bed Harry Potter, Gryffindor extraordinaire, backed off and slipped back out of the room, turning the light off as he left.
Back out in the hall, Harry was left unsure of where to go. For lack of a better destination he headed back to the library. Once there he looked for a relatively unused section. Having located the dustiest one, he set about casting the spells they had used to protect their camps during the hunt for the Horcruxes. Looking at the floor he cast several cushioning charms at it and laid down. It wasn't as comfortable as his bed but currently far preferable. Soon Harry was drifting off in to an uneasy sleep.
When Harry was fast asleep Kreacher popped into the library as if the protective spells weren't there. Taking a look at his Young Master he shook his head and conjured a pillow and blanket. He gently placed the pillow under the Young Master's head and covered him with the blanket before he popped out again to clean the house that the Young Master was apparently going to be using more extensively now.
:-:-:-:-:
Hermione awoke with a scream. She had been having the most god-awful nightmare. She had given in and joined Weasley in his bed. She could still feel his hands groping her body, the dream powered by a memory of her letting him touch her through her clothes in an attempt to keep him pacified without resorting to everything he was asking for. Her heartrate was almost back to normal when she noticed she was in a strange bed and panic slammed back into her until she remembered that she had been waiting for Harry and fallen asleep on his bed. That brought up a new worry though: where was Harry? As she looked around the dark, empty room a terrible thought struck her. What if he left because of what I said? What if he doesn't even want to be my friend anymore?
That thought was disturbing enough that it drove Hermione from the room to look for Harry. It was dark enough that she thought everyone would be asleep. She would check the common rooms of the house first. When she got to the drawing room she saw Kreacher inside, carefully cleaning the various Black family heirlooms. She knew Harry got on well with the elf and hoped he would know where to find her wayward friend.
"Kreacher?" The elf turned around and scowled mightily when he saw who it was. Hermione pressed on regardless. "Kreacher, I need to find Harry. It's important. Can you help me find him?" The scowl on Kreacher's face intensified.
"Why should Kreacher help nasty mudblood who hurts his Good Young Master? Kreacher will not." The elf popped away before Hermione could argue her case. Since Harry was obviously not in the drawing room she moved on. Hermione systematically checked all the rooms she came to except when she already knew who was sleeping there. She couldn't find Harry anywhere. When she finally came to the kitchen a part of her was already planning what she would do if it turned out that Harry had left the house.
"Hermione? What are you doing up?" Hermione hadn't noticed Sirius sitting in his pyjamas in the kitchen holding a mug. As she got closer she could smell that, whatever was in the mug, it was extremely alcoholic.
"I'm looking for Harry. He never came to bed and I need to talk to him, I need to apologize." Hermione's tone was extremely distressed. Sirius looked her over and grunted.
"Gave you the Purging Potion, did he?" At Hermione's surprised nod he continued. "Good. Then maybe you can put a smile on his face; or was that why you were waiting for him in his bed?" Hermione blushed ferociously at what Sirius was implying. "Ah well, it's none of my business. Let's go." With that Sirius drained his cup of whatever it was and got up. He was already moving out the door when he looked over his shoulder.
"Are you coming, or what?" Hermione ran to catch up to him and was surprised to see they were heading back up the stairs. When they entered the library she spoke up.
"I've already checked the library, Sirius. There's nobody here." Sirius just kept going, leaving Hermione no choice but to follow. He finally stopped in front of a set of shelves that looked no different than any other and turned to look at Hermione.
"It may interest you to know that as the owner of this house I know when someone puts up wards or static charms on my property." Sirius told her. It only took Hermione a moment to work out the significance of that statement.
"Harry's hidden himself behind wards?" Sirius just looked at her and shrugged.
"Someone put up some static protection charms around here. No idea if it's Harry, but it's damn likely." Hermione was looking around trying to spot the charms but even knowing they were there she couldn't find a thing. Sometimes it was really annoying that Harry had started applying himself in his studies. She was distracted from her inspection by Sirius talking to her.
"Now, I can find the charms due to my connection with the house but before I show you exactly where they are I want to make one thing very clear." He waited until he was sure he had her undivided attention. "Potions or not, if you ever hurt my godson like that again I will destroy everything that makes your life worth living and leave you to suffer in the wreckage, understand?" Sirius grey eyes were like chips of ice and his voice conveyed that he was entirely willing to carry out his threat. Hermione realized exactly why the Black family was still feared in the wizarding world and also why Sirius Black had been considered capable of murder when he was thrown in Azkaban. She felt she could only nod meekly. Seeing her nod, Sirius grinned at her. "Good, then get in there fix what's broken."
He gave her a shove and Hermione stumbled several steps. When she steadied herself she saw Sirius leaving the library humming to himself. She was about to call after him and ask what the hell he was doing when she became aware of someone else in the room with her. There on the floor was the sleeping form of Harry Potter. A part of Hermione's mind considered that Sirius must have pushed her past the protection charms but it was eclipsed by the sheer relief that Harry was still in Grimmauld Place and the joy of seeing him again without the potions affecting her judgement.
Hermione couldn't bring herself to wake Harry just so she could beg his forgiveness, instead she would wait for him to wake up of his own accord. She couldn't stop herself from kneeling down to touch him, just to make sure he was real. When she did she noticed the Cushioning Charm on the floor. That explains how he can sleep on the floor like that. After a few moments of watching him and worrying at her lip as she considered her options, Hermione laid down next to Harry. Fighting the rush of self-consciousness at her own daring she wriggled under the blanket and curled up against him. The scent that had helped her relax back in Harry's room was much more present here at the source. She realized she could hear his heart beating as she laid her head on his chest. The regular thumping was so relaxing that she drifted off without ever noticing it.