Author:Cursed-PirateChick
Disclaimer: Own nothing that belongs to J. K. Rowling. Just the plot is mine and maybe some made up characters.
Note:I've been dying to write a Hermione/Tom fic and so here is the beginning. I would love for everyone to review and tell me if you like the beginning. Please enjoy! P.S: I don't have a Beta so if there are lots of mistakes I apologize profusely!
Epilogue
Magical. The only word she could think of to describe what was going on around her. It wasn't the magic of fairytales where the white knight rushes forth to save his fair maiden from the tower guarded by a deadly dragon. No. The word described the feel in the air. The power that encircled the fighters and pressed down on their stressed muscles as paranoia set in and caution was blown to the wind. Multicolored lights that would have entranced a young child flew through the air randomly making purchase on a body that would either fall dead to the crimson colored grass or frozen as if tide with invisible knots. Every part of her body ached as if she had been laid out on a cutting block for a butcher to tenderize. Blood covered her uniform robes of red, gold, and white. The red outer cloak was missing and her white blouse was torn and half was hanging loose from her red skirt that stopped right above her knees. The Gryffindor insignia was stitched above her heart on the blouse with golden letters that read Head Girl substituting for the word Gryffindor. As Head Girl of the school she was required to dress in more noticeable robes. She limped only slightly from the large gash on her right leg as she maneuvered swiftly through the sweating and yelling bodies of Death Eaters, Order Members, and Ministry Officials. Mud smeared across her left cheek and blood dripped from a thin cut that was close to her right eye and curved down between her nose and right cheek. Her curly brown hair clung to her neck and forehead with sweat, blood, and mud.
But no matter how exhausted and pained her body was her eyes stayed untouched. The hard war worn gaze focused with great concentration when she cast a spell in defense or offense. The golden hazel irises searched harder for the messy locks of raven black hair that belonged to one of her best friends as her breathing began to grow ragged from all of the running and loss of blood. She was beginning to panic when suddenly her body doubled over in immense pain and a hoarse voice screaming in panic, "Hermione!" It was Harry, the boy she was looking for. Forcing herself to over come the pain of the spell pulling and burning at her insides she looked up to see Harry stopped a few feet away facing a tall snake like man with crimson eyes. She new to well who he was. The very man who cast the wizarding world into this horrid war and ripped the people she loved and cared for from this plain of existence. Her parents were two of those and she felt the pang in her heart that was swept away by a more powerful wave of pain that made her fold inward.
Taking a deep breath she glanced up and saw a maniacal looking woman with a halo of crazy black hair and a wand pointed directly at her curled body. Lightening cracked over head as another storm was moving in. Hermione couldn't help but think how it was a fitting atmosphere and she mentally slapped herself for losing focus for just that second. Slipping on the mud she gripped her wand tighter and pushed back the tears as she flicked her wrist toward the cackling witch. A purple light fired from the tip and hit the witch directly in the thigh making the cackle morph into a high pitched scream as the cloth singed and the skin underneath turned an angry red and split open immediately cauterizing the edges.
Feeling stiff Hermione stumbled to her feet as it began to sprinkle down rain upon the heated flesh of the witches and wizards. Standing in a unique dueling stance Hermione faced off with Bellatrix Lestrange, the Dark Lord's second in command. With eyes locked the two shifted closer and awaited the other to make one mistake. Breathing evenly the two woman stopped a good distance from one another ready to perform the right spell once their opponents guard was dropped, but neither got the chance as surges of powerful magic broke over the field and made all stop what they were doing in order to turn to its origin. Harry James Potter, the boy-who-lived, was locked in a power duel with Lord Voldemort, he-who-must-not-be-named. Blue light extending from Harry's wand battled against the green that extended from the Dark Lord's wand. Harry's posture was slowly bending with fatigue where as Voldemort was lazily holding his wand out in front of his body unfazed by the battles he had recently faced. The scene struck a cord in Hermione's non-stop brain and horrified she realized how the war was going to end. Tears broke free from her eyes as a victorious glaze washed over the crimson eyes and his ivory jaw set. Lord Voldemort's every muscle went rigid and he bent into his own dueling stance pouring his power into the Killing Curse. Everything happened so fast. A red headed boy screaming tore across the field toward the powerful figure of Voldemort with ever intention of distracting him as Harry was forced down to his knees; the green light was drawing ever closer to his person. Hermione was frozen as she watched everything play out. Bellatrix registered the danger to her Lord and quickly cast the Killing Curse into the back of Ronald Weasley's back. He fell lifeless to the mud with a sickening splash. Fortunately, Harry was too distracted with the duel to notice his best mate die trying to save him but Hermione wasn't distracted and it tore gashes into her heart. Her best friend and old flame lie unmoving in a puddle at the Dark Lord's feet and her other best friend was losing a duel to that same man. The green light was inches from Harry's wand when Hermione's eyes turned to molten gold and with a cry she charged the killer of Ron. She had to fight. Bellatrix found herself locked in a powerful duel with a furious lioness pressing down on her with tears pouring over her cheeks.
Bellatrix shielded everything waiting for her own moment. It came when Hermione slipped and gave ground sending the woman on offense with a sneer, "stupid mudblood!" Hermione held in the scream as Bellatrix's spell struck. It felt as if a large knife was slammed into her shoulder with the hilt touching her bare skin then drug down diagonally across her back. Taking her chance and not caring about the consequences Hermione sent the killing curse spiraling from her wand into Bellatrix's unguarded chest. The stunned witch fell to the ground in a heap. Hermione's chest rose and fell rapidly as screams of agony that could only be pried from the heart erupted around her and familiar hands wrapped around her body to pull her away into retreat. A few feet away lay an identical heap that was the light's only hope and Hermione fought the hands of her friends to reach Harry's still figure completely ignoring the blazing liquid blood eyes that locked on her in rage.
Remus, Sirius, and Charlie dragged the thrashing Hermione over the battle field and through the Hogwarts front doors where Minerva McGonagall warded and braced the door before turning to the group, "to the Headmaster's office!"
Hermione growled as they fought her flailing limbs all the way to the familiar office. Once safely in they set her down. Like a cat she was about to bolt for the door when a booming voice froze her in her tracks, "Hermione Jean Granger!" Albus' deep brass held Hermione in a trance as she turned a tear stained face to the elegant picture of her beloved Headmaster who had died a few months before the Final Battle seeing as the battle began right as the students stepped foot onto the grounds.
"Professor Dumbledore," she walked to the desks edge her voice stronger than she felt, "Harry, Ron, they're dead," tears cascaded down her cheeks and rain pelted the stain glass window, "they're dead. So many are dead," her eyes grew wide as she remembered what she did out of rage, "I killed."
His expression was pained and sympathetic, "I know, Hermione. I do not look upon you badly for what you did. Bellatrix was a cruel deadly woman. I know that her death was enough punishment for you. It is hard to kill, Hermione, and even harder to never do it again but I know you can do it," he held his head high, "don't give up hope. There is another way! It is breaking every rule I can think of but it must be done!"
Hermione's shielded heart let only a sliver of hope through as she listened to her mentor, "I shall never speak that curse against another, Professor! Never," she held her head high, "anything for this war to end! What is it?" She grabbed the desks edge her knuckles turning white and watched the picture closely.
Albus was about to indulge her when the door burst open to reveal Bill, Kingsley, Arthur, and a man Hermione had never seen before struggling with Lavender Brown and Ginny Weasley who were fighting like wild animals to get free and run to the love of their lives who lay dead on the Hogwarts lawn. Lavender had always been madly in love with Ron but kept her distance because of Hermione. When the relationship between Hermione and Ron ended Lavender laid her heart out for Ron declaring her love for him. Ginny and Harry were more secretive in their love but it was their none the less. Upon noticing Hermione both girls broke free and raced to her breaking down into great sobs as she collapsed with them into a chair holding them tight but watching the man in the portrait in an obvious command for him to continue, "Time Travel, It goes against everything but I had a thought. If you can go back to Tom Riddle's time then maybe you can prevent all of this from ever happening. Any outcome would be better than THIS," he pointed to the window for emphasis.
Ginny looked up furiously and snarled, "Tom Riddle! That monster!"
Albus nodded but before anyone could reply a loud bang and screams wafted up into the small office, "we haven't much time. Minerva retrieve the spell from my desk. Mrs. Brown, Mrs. Weasley you will be accompanying Mrs. Granger on this trip but be warned this is a one way trip. No return. Once you are of that time you will remain of that time. No one must know of the future and what is to come that is one rule that can NEVER be broken! You can choose to keep your names or change them, which is it?" Ginny eyed the picture nervously. The memory of her first year at Hogwarts still lingering on the edges of her mind but she forced it away.
Hermione's eyes flashed, "I'll keep mine."
The two girls next to her watched her closely then nodded their own heads, "same here."
Standing the three girls wiped their eyes with the back of their hands then looked up at Albus for more information. Ginny and Lavender fighting the pain of losing the men they love. If anyone was willing to object it was too late as the screams below grew louder, "Hermione I need you to be creative about your three's stories. Quickly!"
Hermione glanced at her two friends then fired with what knowledge of 1944 she had, "Our parents are dead and the war has claimed our lives. We have completed six years of 'training' and as the war has moved closer to other areas of Europe we were in Scotland taking up a lead when the group discovered my blood status and ambushed us. We fought them off and ran taking cover in the castle. There any other details I'll be able to take care of once we are there. As for our stories before the war that is up to us individually."
"Good! Now, quickly join hands. Everyone except for the girls join Minerva in chanting the spell. Hermione, Ginny, Lavender, the pain will be quite unbearable; unfortunately, I was unable to perfect the spell in that department," he sighed.
"Pain seems to be a part of our lives, Professor, we are accustomed to it," Hermione's words held far more wisdom than her seventeen years. She reached out and grasped Lavender's and Ginny's hands squeezing them a little for encouragement and strength.
Minerva began to cry as she took in the true words that Hermione spoke and wished that the three women that stood before her never had to grow up before they really had to, "are you ready?"
They nodded their heads and the elderly woman began to chant in Latin. The others in the room soon followed her example. Their words faded into a hum of different tones from brass to tenor. Hermione felt like she was floating and the exhaustion of the day seemed to lift away as darkness began to close in on her eyes cutting off her eye sight. The humming grew louder and she began to spin making her grip the two girls hands harder in fear that she might be ripped away. Dizziness set in and she stumbled forward making the humming increase in volume to the point that it hurt her ears then the pain struck. It felt as if thousands of hot needles were being jabbed into her skin. The fatigue and exhaustion of lost blood and battle made her body heavy. An extreme pressure pushed down on her shoulders and into the gaping wound on her back making her gasp out. Emotions racked her body as she was ripped from 2007 and thrown through time. Her muscles began contracting around the invisible needles pulling them in until they became liquid under her skin. The hot molten metal slid over her organs, muscles, and bones inflaming them and making a cold sweat break out over her body. The pain was beyond the Cruciatus Curse and Hermione was beginning to doubt that her beaten body could take it any longer. To her relief a powerful suction pulled her from the pain and she was falling. Her hands slipped from the other two when she impacted on hard stone letting out a cry of pain and hearing two identical ones. Vaguely aware of hurried foot steps Hermione finally gave into unconsciousness.