Harry Potter The Surprise

Hermione's nod of acceptance saw Lily begin her explanation, though her arms remained wrapped around her son. "When Voldemort came to our cottage that night, he wasn't there to murder me or your dad. A prophecy foretold of a child being born with the power to defeat the Dark Lord. You are that child, Harry, and he didn't want you growing up to be a threat."

While running her fingers through her son's unruly black hair, Lily opened her other arm to Hermione. "Tie up Buckbeak and come over here. He needs his best friend too right now."

Hermione didn't need a second invitation. The rope she had been leading the hippogriff with was quickly wound around a branch of the bush and Hermione was soon hugging Harry for all she was worth. Only by being so close did she hear Harry's whispered question.

"Does Dumbledore know!"

Harry and Hermione then got to see the other side of the fiery redhead as only hugging both teens allowed Lily to contain her temper. It was close though.

"Yes that old bugger knew, and I wish I had time to call him out on it. Dumbledore is not your friend, Harry. He wants Voldemort defeated and will use anything or anyone to get the job done. Sending you two out here tonight was only his latest of a long list of escapades in stupidity I'd like to hit him for. He lied to you tonight, and then left children to deal with a problem of his making…"

Taking a deep breath, Lily offered some examples for her anti Dumbledore views. "I have no power to make other men see the truth, or to overrule the Minister of Magic. Remember he said that? Severus Snape escaped Azkaban purely on the word of Albus bloody Dumbledore, yet Sirius never even merited a trial. He wanted you placed with Petunia and knew Sirius would never stand for that, so he kept quiet. He also knew Voldemort wasn't really gone, and even bloody why, yet has done nothing about it. That old goat really makes my blood boil!"

Lily could see the questions piling up with both teens and knew she didn't have time to answer them all so cut straight to the chase. "Voldemort delved deep into the dark arts and discovered a procedure where he could split his soul, storing part of it in a container. All of those pieces would have to be traced and destroyed just to make him mortal again. The night he attacked you, your father and I had already undergone a ritual that saved your life, and should have ended Voldemort's. We didn't know about the horcruxes though, that's what you call a soul container. A part of his soul split off that night too and attached itself to the nearest host, my poor baby. Dumbledore knows this happened, yet his answer was to place you with that sister of mine in the hope living with my family would extend the protection on you. The old fool didn't know I was always with you, and you could have stayed anywhere. You are never going back to that…place."

From all the bad news he'd been hearing, here was something positive for Harry to latch onto - and he did. His mother was by no means finished however.

"The reason I'm able to be here with you tonight is I'm no longer needed to protect you, the ritual is finally complete. That dementor sucked out the part of Voldemort's soul that had attached itself to you, just before you chased them all away. I have always protected you from his influence and was able to help finally push him out tonight. What he left behind though were memories and knowledge, these will give you the knowledge needed to defeat him."

Looking into his mother's green eyes, Harry asked the question he already kinda knew the answer to. "Can I tell Dumbledore about this? I don't think I can do this on my own."

Moving his fringe, Lily kissed the rapidly disappearing lightning scar. She was about to reassure her son when Hermione beat her to it.

"You're not alone, Harry, and never will be."

It was a smiling Lily who spoke directly to the girl. "Hermione, Harry's had a very difficult life while living at Privet Drive. That sister of mine never showed him one scrap of kindness, far less any sort of love. If you want something to happen, you're going to have to be the instigator."

Having her suspicions confirmed saw Hermione give a thoughtful nod. Harry needed her, now more than ever, and Hermione was determined to let him know she wasn't going to be moved from his side. Her arms shifted from around him until she had her hands either side of his face. Turning him gently, Hermione gathered up all her courage and closed the gap between them to meet his lips with her own.

To say Harry was surprised would be an understatement, shocked didn't even begin to cover it. He was far from being an idiot though and did what came naturally when a pretty girl kissed you - Harry kissed Hermione back.

As their arms wound around each other, a delighted Lily couldn't have been happier. She didn't have any time to waste though. Her slight cough stopped the kiss, however both still clung to one another while trying to make sense of what just happened.

A bemused Harry uttered the first thing that came into his head. "What about Ron?"

An amused Hermione answered with a question of her own. "You'd rather be kissing Ron?"

"No, of course not. I just thought, you know, you and Ron?"

"The same Ron who argues with me all the time? That Ron? I would much rather be kissing you, but if you don't want me too…"

Harry ended that line of though by kissing any doubts Hermione had away.

It took a louder cough from Lily this time to get their attention back on her. "To answer your original question, that would be a no. Dumbledore certainly wants Voldemort dead, it's the almost nonchalant way he uses people to try and achieve his aim that worries me the most. Harry, we need a team of people around you to help with this task. It needs to be people you can trust implicitly though. Needless to say, your main supporter is right beside you. Your little elven friend would be a great addition too. He's desperate to help and would love nothing more than to be part of your family. It doesn't need saying that Sirius and Remus will have to be involved too. After tonight Remus will need a job, and Sirius a place to hide. Claim your head of house and you can easily do both."

The blank looks coming from both teens had Lily almost kicking herself. "Sorry, I forgot no one told you about that. Something you need to ask Remus about later. Raise your wand and repeat after me…"