The Ripple Effect

Ron was dazed, lying in a heap against the hospital wing doors. Before he could get up, he felt his wand sail out of his robes. His anger returned as he watched Harry casually destroy his wand and toss the pieces away without a second thought. He discovered that he could no longer move when he went to confront Harry. Ron couldn't remember hearing an incantation at all but he was distracted from that thought when he felt the magic rolling off Harry in waves as he approached.

Stopping just a foot away from Ron, Harry knelt down so that they were face to face. In a voice that was so quiet, Ron had to strain to hear it, Harry said, "If you ever raise your hand, or wand, towards Hermione again you will wish that you were never born."

Harry stood back up, began pooling his magic, and then fired the most powerful stunner he could manage right between Ron's eyes before removing the binding charm. He watched Ron's unconscious body crumple to the floor with a look of disappointment and disgust on his face.

No one moved as Harry walked up to Hermione, concern clearly visible on his face. "Are you okay?" he asked as he pulled her into his chest with his good arm. He felt her nod yes, so he turned his attention to Charlie who was still sitting in a chair, shock plainly visible on his face.

"I'm sorry that you had to see that. Ron never mentioned anything about the first task. In fact, we haven't spoken to each other since late October." Harry said with a hint of regret in his voice.

Charlie was surprised to hear that Ron was not speaking to Harry or Hermione. "I didn't know that you two weren't speaking with each other. If I had known, I would have sent you an owl or something."

Glancing over at Rons' crumpled form Charlie sighed in resignation before speaking again. "I'm sorry for how Ron behaved earlier Hermione. He should have known better. I'll speak to him when he wakes up and I will make sure that mum, dad, and Professor McGonagall know what happened." Charlie waved goodbye and he got up to lead the still shocked Madam Poppy Pomfrey back to her office to talk about what they had just witnessed.

Harry looked over at Hermione and asked, "Can you get me a fresh set of clothes or just transfigure what I'm wearing so we can leave please?"

"Of course." Hermione said as she stepped over to the bathroom and called "Dobby." The small elf popped into the room in front of her and once he saw her she smiled at him and spoke "Dobby. Would you please bring some fresh clothes for Harry?"

"I would be happy to Miss Mione." Dobby said in his high-pitched voice as he popped out of the room.

Before Hermione could even leave the room, Dobby was back with the clothing in his arms. She took them from him and set them down on the sink. "Thank you Dobby."

"You're welcome." Dobby smiled and popped away thinking about how happy he was being in service to the Potters and leaving a slightly bewildered Hermione in his wake.

She knew that something was different about Dobby and Winky the past couple of weeks but she had not quite put her finger on it yet. Pushing that thought out of her mind, she called Harry over to the bathroom so he could change. "I'll be right outside if you need anything."

"Thanks." Harry said as he stepped into the bathroom and closed the door behind him. He quickly realized that he couldn't use his left arm enough to get completely dressed and he was not confident enough that he could pull off a proper switching spell at the moment.

Making sure he was as presentable as possible, Harry opened the door and stuck his head out. "Uh; Hermione? Could you give me a hand please?" he said with a slight blush on his cheeks.

Hermione got up from her chair and headed over to see what Harry needed help with. When she opened the door to the loo, the sight that greeted her caused her to blush scarlet.

Harry was standing there with his shirt only half on and his pants unbuttoned. The blush on his face was threatening to move down to his chest he was so pink. She had seen boys in their swim trunks before but somehow seeing Harry standing there, half dressed, affected her in ways that she hadn't thought about before. Her blush almost matched Harry's when she realized why he had called her into the bathroom.

Silently she stepped up to Harry without saying a word and began fastening the buttons on his clothes. Hermione couldn't help but admire Harry's developing physique as she was finishing up with the buttons on his shirt.

When she was finished helping him dress she left her hands on his chest and put her head on his good shoulder. His skin was warm, and soft, to the touch. Oddly enough, she found that she enjoyed dressing Harry. It was innocent, yet very intimate, and it brought forth a feeling of contentment inside of her.

Harry was trying hard to control his breathing while Hermione was buttoning his shirt. His heart was pounding so hard that he was sure she must have felt it when her fingers brushed against his chest. What he didn't realize was that her heart was fluttering just as much as his was pounding.

With his good arm, he reached up and rubbed her back in thanks, enjoying the quiet, intimate, moment. He hoped that there would be many more of these moments in their future.

Harry had never given much thought to his future before. He was only fourteen and it had seemed so far off. The realization of their bonding began to settle upon him as the days events receded into the background.

The first task had been consuming him and now he understood why Hermione had a slight panic attack earlier in the day. Their futures were tied together in ways that he just could not comprehend completely yet.

Hermione pulled back from Harry's embrace and gave him a small smile. Looping her arm around his waist she said, "Let's head down to the kitchens. You must be starving, and we could use a quiet place to talk."

On cue, Harry's stomach gave a low gurgle and Hermione had to stifle a giggle. However, her stomach decided that food was a good thing too and made a similar noise causing Harry to raise an eyebrow in mock questioning as he laughed along with her.

Harry paused at the entryway, noticing that Ron was no longer lying on the floor. He looked around and saw him on one of the beds farthest away from the door, still unconscious.

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