"How positive are you that this will work?" Harry asked for the umpteenth time, cradling a sleeping Teddy Lupin to his chest.
Hermione snorted, never looking up from her calculations.
"Not at all. All I can confirm is that it probably won't kill us. Whether it will send us to the correct "place" is another question entirely."
He sighed heavily and leaned back in his chair.
The room was quiet, the air thick with tension, and Harry couldn't quite relax yet, but he could slow down and take a breath for the first time in hours.
The room of Requirement was much like it had been when they were still in school, filled with the forgotten junk of hidden things. But the differences were clear. Between the two of them they'd laid out a good library's worth of their research, spread haphazardly on several tables and scrawled onto blackboards. What had started as a side project had quickly taken over their lives, and now they could only hope their efforts could save them.
They purposely ignored the far corner of the room to stave off the encroaching desperation, but in the back of their minds they could still see it with startling clarity. There the veil of death sat, just like it had ever since Harry had had it moved here in secret. The strangely gentle yet nonexistent breeze that caught up the curtain taunted them, dared them to enter.
"So by probably-"
"I mean that entering the Veil isn't instant death, I'm confident enough to say that. It's just transportation. The question is where we'll end up. Even in a world identical to ours we could appear on top of a mountain with no atmosphere, or at the bottom of the ocean."
"Or in a world nothing like ours with a different gas replacing the oxygen in our atmosphere, or a world that's a billion years ahead in the timeline and already been destroyed by the sun. I know. I just-" he sighed again.
Hermione finally looked up, giving him a tight smile.
"I wish I could give you all the answers, but we've been too rushed now. We don't have the time to get it perfect."

He smiled back, but his eyes were hard with bitterness. The former Boy-Who-Lived had strengthened like well made steel in the years since the so-called Battle of Hogwarts. He'd gotten taller, probably as tall as Ron had been, but not lanky. He was well muscled, not overly, but obviously strong. His shoulders were broad, his jaw angled, and at some point he'd even allowed his hair to grow long, and the cursed Potter hair came to resemble something like curls. Most striking of all were the vivid green eyes that analyzed everyone, scanning strangers for threats and family for hurts, looking out for those he cared for. If it wasn't for the fact their relationship was like the closest of siblings- and the fact that Harry James Potter had no interest in women, Hermione might have easily fallen in love with the powerful man he'd become.

Hermione didn't realize how much she'd also changed. She'd finally cut her hair short, and she found it much simpler to just let it be, pushing it behind a headband and forgetting about it. She'd gotten taller, gained womanly curves and confidence she could've never claimed in their Hogwarts years. Her demeanor had eased with age as well, her chocolatey eyes gaining a subtle playfulness to them, although lately they were simply tired, and terrified. Before things began to fall apart she'd easily claimed smartest AND most beautiful of their year group, although she only rarely reveled in it.

The two friends jumped when the door slammed open and Draco Malfoy and Ginny Weasley rushed inside. They were both carrying several bags between them, all of which were quickly thrown to the floor as soon as the door was shut, their wands working in tandem to spell the entrance closed as permanently as they could manage. Hermione, Harry, and even Teddy, who'd woke up at the commotion watched them silently.
After a moment's hesitation Hermione returned to her work, scribbling frantically, knowing her time had already run out.
"We've got maybe an hour before they track us down and send the whole Auror Department in after us" Draco said, running an agitated hand through his shaggy, chin-length hair.
"Not even, it'll take ten minutes at least for the portal to be set to the correct coordinates, and it has to have time to cool down after we're gone if we don't want some idiot being able to follow us," she said, finally walking towards the veil with her notebook in one hand and her wand in the other.
"You think they're smart enough?" Ginny interjected, surprised.
Harry shook his head.
"Once the location is set it's almost the same process as piggy-backing on the magical signature of someone else's apparition. As much as I doubt any of these bastards have the insight to think of it, it's still a possibility we have to entertain," he explained setting the squirming Teddy on his feet. The toddler's hair became red, indicating exactly who he had his sights on, and Ginny scooped him up without complaint, her smile fond.
"We're going somewhere new, Teddy-Bear. Isn't that exciting?"
The youngest, or rather, only Weasley had perhaps changed the most of all. The simpering fan-girl was long gone, had been since before the Battle even, but even the tomboyish redhead with a quick wand had eventually become a harsh woman with just as much talent in her prank hexes as deadly curses. Her body was covered in scars only just beginning to fade, and her smiles had become rare. As much as Harry knew better than to blame himself for the trials his family had been through, it was Ginny's heartbreaks he regretted the most.
Her blue eyes met his over the top of Teddy's head as the little one babbled his agreement, as if she knew exactly what he was thinking, and was willing to jinx him for it.
Instead it was Draco who commented, slapping him on the back to shake him out of his stupor.
"Enough of this, Potter, help me with this stuff. We managed to pack everything and get it out, but we won't be able to carry everything over like this."
With a nod Harry stood and waved his hand at a stack of abandoned trunks on the far wall.
Two of them floated gently down to the ground and opened. They were old and ratty, but with another flick of his wrist they were like new. Draco rolled his eyes, muttering about showoffs, but waved his wand to place the duffle bags inside the trunks. Cushioning and unbreakable charms were placed on them, as well as the strongest locking spells he could think of, before they were shrunk to the size of earrings.
He handed one to Draco and stuck the other in his pocket.
It was just then that Hermione came back towards them. Her notebook was gone and she was wringing her hands with nervousness.
"We have about sixty seconds before the portal is ready. Its time."
As if her words were their cue the four young adults touched their hands to the pendants each wore around their necks, activating them with a whispered word. Ginny activated one on Teddy's neck as well. Each glowed briefly as the protection spells settled over them, and it was done. This was a safe as they could be.

The impossible breeze that fluttered through the veil was picking up, as if in anticipation. It was still silent, yet it felt deafening.

With linked hands they gathered around the Veil, sharing one last pensive look, before Harry adopted a determined face.

"On the count of three!" Harry shouted, as if speaking over hurricane force winds.

"One!"

There was a knock at the door.

"Two!"

Shouting could be heard outside the room, the small group tensed, and as if finally sensing the stress of the situation, Teddy began to cry.

"Three!"

They didn't hesitate or look back, simply stepping forward as one through the curtain.

Just as the last trace of them vanished, the far wall of the Room of Requirement was blown apart, and the Auror forces streamed inside like so many ants.

Despite Hermione's and Harry's concerns, no one dared to follow them.