Hermione Granger and the Laws of Destiny

Spoilers ahead. If you have not read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, it is highly recommended you do so before beginning this story.

Disclaimer: This story builds off of the canon of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series.

A/N: The end of The Deathly Hallows left me with a sense of contentment. However, although many questions were answered, I felt as though some gaps remained in the story. Some people weren't given full background, and some changes were abrupt. Nevertheless, the end gave us a glimpse of nineteen years into the future, full of peace. But since when has that peace ever been permanent?

Summary: After years of peace, the world around Hermione crumbles. She starts anew, but will she be able to find her true destiny?

Prologue: Peace Fallen Into Pieces

"Bombarda Maxime! Reducto totalus!"

The door shook, the walls trembled.

WHOOSH!

An eerie breeze flew underneath the door. The wind whirled around, swirling through the neatly stacked papers, swimming straight through her thick grey to her scalp.

Cold. Ice cold.

Evil had come knocking at her office door.

Her round brown eyes looked at the door and widened. The door shook with such force it should have fallen off of its hinges. Even with the magical enhancements still clinging on the portal, the door was much too weak. This attack was too soon, she wasn't prepared, everything had gone wrong, how could all of this be?

"Bombarda Maxime!"

CRUSH!

A hinge buckled under pressure, the reinforced door was failing.

Now was not the time to panic. She would just have to stay calm.

Wand shaking, Hermione Granger reacted quickly.

"Salvio HexiaProtego Totalum…" she rapidly incanted, not stopping for breath. Unwavering, she continued muttering spells until the door of the office finally fell, overpowered by sheer magical force. A rough blue light overcame the room. Her wand fell as she coughed in the dusty, magical fog.

Gasping for breath, Hermione contemplated fighting the intruders. She'd have a decent chance, even if it was against a moderately sized group. But then she saw his face. The red flush in her cheeks instantly faded, leaving pale skin colored by age alone.

A tall thin man with a jet-black goat tee scowled down at her. It was him.

Xuan Wu, the new Dark Lord, had come to kill her in. Against such power, there was nothing Hermione could do. Her death was imminent. Shaking slightly, Hermione saw her past flash before her eyes.

HGHGHGHG

After the collapse of Voldemort's dark regime, the Wizarding World found itself at a crossroads. With bright young minds leading he way, the country experienced a renaissance of peace and prosperity unparalleled in the last few centuries. Muggle technology and wizard discoveries began to merge overtime, creating innovations that revolutionized daily life for the magical world.

Hermione was proud to be part of the cusp of change, but her true happiness came from elsewhere. More than the physical, she cherished the chance to live in a world that was not tinged by constant peril. She loved her family and friends, and enjoyed every precious moment she had with them. However, their happiness was tempered over time: they learned, as had many generations before them, that no peace is permanent.

Long ago, Albus Dumbledore had been the bright light that led the Wizarding World, protecting them from the dark. When he fell, so did Britain's protection, allowing Voldemort to sweep over the realm. Even with Voldemort's demise, there remained no beacon of hope in the Magical World. In this time of troubles, the people searched in themselves, coming together as a group. Indeed, it took a variety of people, not one, to fill this void of power. In time, the Ministry of Magic came to lead the Wizarding World into a new age of prosperity.

It would be historically incorrect to glaze over the Ministry and call it completely reformed. No matter how hard these revolutionaries worked, there would still be the conservative powers that lobbied behind the scenes, directing society in ways unseen. And despite effective policies, the government faced a bureaucracy that grew ever more stagnant as the years passed. Despite a façade of stability and success, the government was slowly decaying from the inside out.

As one of the forerunners of change in the government, Hermione was one of the first to notice when the situation turned for the worse. Simple policy suggestions would take months simply to be read, and many undesirable changes were shuffled off of the schedule without any hesitation. Hermione would spend the rest of her life battling against those who wished for tradition to remain, and she would spend years trying to reform the reforms she had already made. But she knew this was all for naught; as long as there were those who opposed her, her government would never be able to stop decaying. It was a simple, but difficult truth for Hermione: despite her best efforts, she had failed.

Understanding how vulnerable an ineffective government left her country (and perhaps more importantly, those who she loved), Hermione kept an ear out for news, listening for the winds of change. If they ever came blowing, it would be her responsibility, not her 'prosperous' government's, to protect

One day, that wind knocked on her door. It was a grim, overcast night, and the trees were swaying in the wind. Awoken by the loud creak of wood bowing to breeze, Hermione made herself a cup of tea in hopes of calming herself so she could head back to sleep. Yawning as she stirred her tea lazily, Hermione's eyes snapped open.

Something didn't feel right. It was as though the air felt funny. And Hermione very well knew that funny was not a good feeling.

Unable to ignore the feeling, she tiptoed her way outside to the front porch, where she sat sipping tea and reading a book by wandlight. After an hour of silent reading, Hermione felt her chair rock in the breeze. She finally understood. When that wind danced through her hair, she felt it. The wind carried what she could only describe as palpable darkness.

Wary of this potential, Hermione began to watch the world more carefully than ever before. Building off of Dumbledore's habit, Hermione took to reading a variety of Muggle and Magical newspapers. Going a step further, she even began to read foreign papers. The stack of papers that greeted Hermione on her front step every morning was quite a hefty piece of reading, but Hermione didn't mind it. She enjoyed glancing over the news, from the trivial local news to the developments in the rain forests of Brazil. And more importantly, it was this extensive news reach that informed her of trouble abroad.

On one particularly depressing stormy morning, Hermione woke up to find her translated Daily Dragon (a Beijing-based newspaper owned by the Daily Prophet) much thicker than usual. She pulled it out of the stack of papers and glanced at the headline. Her jaw, and the paper, instantly fell.

Atop of the fallen papers, she saw the moving image of a greasy man with a sharp, dark goatee. His eyes were cast in a vile green. His grin was maniacal. Just looking at his sharp face sent shivers down Hermione's back, there was some aura about him…

The title truly explained it all: Dark Lord Xuan Wu Rises.

It was the breeze of change she had felt. It had finally come. It was this Xuan Wu, who had potential, potential to change to the world.

Hermione remained hopeful for the next few weeks, with the paper reporting that the Chinese Ministry was successfully abating the progress of the madman. But her hope began to fade as she saw the telltale signs of the Dark Lord's hidden progress: people disappearing, strange actions by trusted individuals and tragic accidents all littered the paper's pages. And as these listed disappearances and disasters began to increase, so did Hermione's anxiety.

The Chinese newspapers only grew more and more grim as the days passed. After months of reported disappearances, the Dark Lord finally began a more offensive strategy. He began to attack whole cities at a time. Hermione watched as the Dark Lord swept through China like cursed fire; province after province, the magical communities would fall to his troops, until at last only the city of Beijing remained.

That next day, the day of the expected fall of the capital city, the newspaper suddenly changed tone and direction. Hidden in the pages of paper, Hermione was startled to see the bold measures the Ministry had begun to counter any recent progress. But surprised or not, she read the signs, and she new what this subtlety meant: a Ministry takeover was complete.

Throughout China's fall from grace, fear stewed in Hermione. She took a great deal of precautions. But even with her constant warnings, her government took no heed. Hermione decided to abandon her job at the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures to work in Magical Law Enforcement. This change in profession provided her with a stepping-stone to the Minister and other ministries in cases of national security, something she was sure she would need in the near future.

Hermione set her plan into action. As she read the darkening news from abroad, she began to build contacts abroad, working from European partners to other governments throughout the world. Yet there was an undertone in this work that disturbed Hermione; despite her evidence of evil's rise, these people refused to work together. As much as she struggled to assemble a worldwide force of people to defend, everyone else asserted that there was no threat to them. They would also go as far as to argue that the Chinese government would never come to their aid if they were in the same situation. Frustrated with the lack of progress, Hermione redoubled her efforts. But with her own Ministry, she found the same obstacle; no one wished to help China, everyone felt as though the threat were isolated. As the days passed, Hermione's desperation grew. She abandoned her planning, and began to search for a way to possibly blockade Xuan Wu's expansion.

Without any other choice, Hermione adapted. Without any other choice, she struggled with her Ministry to see reason and to send help to China immediately. Without any other choice, she told Harry. There was no one else for her to go to; everywhere she turned, her fears were laughed at as unreasonable. All that was left were her friends, the only people who would ever trust her opinion on the matter.

Hermione had asked Harry to join her at the local teashop that day. They blended in well with the Muggles, not even noticeable to the trained eye. Hidden at a small corner table in the dim restaurant, they were talking in hushed voices and silently sipping their tea. Hermione had just told Harry about the Dark Lord, and he wasn't reacting quite as well as she had hoped. His normally jovial face had instantly hardened, and he looked at her with cold eyes.

"But everyone says this Xuan Wu is no threat to us. Why do you think any different?" Harry asked Hermione incredulously. She studied him for a moment and took a sip of tea. They were at the local teashop, stationed at a small table in the corner.

"Because, I have a feeling."

"Oh, a feeling, a lot of good that'll do you. No wonder no one believes you."

"I mean to say that evil has no bounds. Xuan Wu is a threat to us. China is a country of over a billion people, currently dominated by a man who terrorizes with his dark magic. Their Ministry has fallen, just as ours did years ago. With such forces, he could easily begin a worldwide assault. If he's tasted that power, he'll want more. What's really disconcerting is no one's sure what his reason for rapid expansion is. He claims to only want China, but there's something very wrong about this. Since when do dictators keep promises? I think the world's missing some very important aspect of about this man."

"I'd be content if I had China abiding by every flick of my wand. I wouldn't want to challenge the rest of the world powers, anyway. Too risky."

"But you're not him, and you're not in his position of power. Once he has felt power, once he has tasted the forbidden fruit, he will want more. And with such great manpower, he could very easily overcome ministries one by one."

"But if that happens, everyone will step in."

"That might be true, but at that point, it will be much too late. I think he's secretly planning and gathering troops right now. I'm almost positive he will be able to sweep through Asia much to fast for us to prepare."

"How do you know?"

"Inferences. Contacts abroad. I can see things when they're not all that apparent," replied Hermione testily.

"Fine. Let's say I believe you for a moment; there's been peace for so long—how could—how could this be happening so soon? It's only been fifty years since Voldemort," asked Harry, desperate for this to be untrue.

"Well, the problem stems from oppression, which eventually leads to the rise of a tyrant… I've tried to research what exactly set Xuan Wu off but it's too much guesswork. I have no idea, only hunches. And with the infrastructure of his country in ruins, it's been nigh impossible to even find his birth date, or any information on his infancy and childhood. I don't know if he's a Mudblood hater, or something else altogether. But I am certain that his thirst for power will not be quenched so easily. And as for your question of 'soon,' you very well know that the last span between Dark Lords in Europe alone lasted a few short decades."

"But that's still unheard of."

"I'll admit, it's a short span between evil powers. It's very odd, indeed. All I can say is that there have always been Dark Lords rising and falling all over the world, just usually not at the same time. And all over the world, people have faced them," stated Hermione.

"Then why is Xuan Wu our problem? It's China's problem, let them solve it. No one helped me when Voldemort was around. I don't see why you're asking me to go try to set things right."

"I would never think you would be one to shift culpability for evil to one nation alone, but apparently I was mistaken," snapped Hermione.

"A this point, I just want peace," Harry replied tiredly.

"I don't doubt it," replied Hermione coolly. "But you have to open your eyes and help these people. I've exhausted all of the legitimate channels of help. No one's listening. I need someone to help me, I need you, Harry. I need everyone."

"No, we're insulated from this problem. It makes more sense for me to stay home, stay here and rest in peace."

"When you say rest in peace, you make it sound as though you're dead."

"You know very well what I mean by it!"

"No, I don't. You're acting as good as dead because you're not helping them! The Harry I know would have gone off to help these people. The Harry I know had a saving people thing," she whispered angrily.

"That was a long time ago… I'm older now and I won't recklessly risk my life and leave behind those I love. I can't."

"But don't you see? If you don't go now, they'll be in grave danger."

"We don't know that for sure."

"Would you let that stop you from ensuring their safety?"

"But what if I never see them again?"

"That never stopped you before!"

"I was younger then…"

"True…"

"Is it selfish to want to be love and be loved in return?"

"No, but it's selfish not to protect that love!" replied Hermione, slamming her teacup on the table. The people around her gave her curious looks before turning back to their idle chatter.

"It's never been our problem before, when a Dark Lord has risen abroad," said Harry calmly. "Why is it now?"

"Because the world has changed. Long ago, we didn't realize there was a connection between continents. Even wizards were limited in knowledge of geography. Dark Lords remained isolated in their power. They may have desired to expand their reigns of darkness, but they didn't know where it could be expanded. "

"But wizards aren't Muggles. They've always had the Floo and Portkeys to overcome distances. Maybe they didn't know about the 'New World,' but they had access to the whole of the old."

"Very good, Harry. But what most people don't realize is that Portkeys weren't as effective then, neither was Floo. True, you travel much faster than any Muggle. But they could only go so far, and jumping too much was a threat a Wizard's welfare. Splinching happened even when Apparition wasn't involved. Our travel has taken so long to perfect."

"So what exactly are you saying?"

"The farthest a Magical Empire could reach would be a continent due to limitations in Magical technology. Today, however, both Muggles and wizards are more connected than ever before. Floo, Apparition, and Portkey technology and techniques have reached new heights of traveling. They're more effective than ever before, and wizards and witches can move around the world at the drop of a pointed hat. In other words, globalization has brought us closer together, but has also made world domination a more readily achievable goal."

"So you mean to say that they'll be here. Soon."

"Yes, and if you're going to suggest I go to the Ministry of Magic, I already have. I informed the Minister, his underlings, their underlings, and so on. I've had no luck whatsoever. The Minister assured me they were on top of everything worldwide and that law-abiding citizens such as myself had nothing to fear. And everyone seems to believe that drabble."

"I thought we had reformed our government."

"We had, but these things have a way of unraveling right when you glance away. Harry, I've tried everything I can think of, I've contacted the people I know, people I don't know, people I thought would help me. Nothing's worked. I know you don't want to risk losing your loved ones, but you have to protect them. We need to form some sort of resistance, and you're one of the only people who will believe me."

"Hermione."

"If we can get enough people together, we can put together a guerrilla resistance. Maybe the old crowd? That'll be our only chance to stop Xuan Wu's advance through Asia and into Europe. From there, he would be able to usurp power in Africa then move to South America and sweep up through Central America into the North… You'll be facing numbers you've never even fathomed, teetering on the edge of death at every turn, but…"

"I'll go, Hermione. For them. Ron, Ginny and I will all go. We'll find people, we will," said Harry, finally accepting this as his duty. "I assume you'll be staying behind?" Harry's eyes wandered to Hermione's bad leg.

"I really don't think I'd be of help with my lame leg, let alone my arthritis, and you know that dragon pox only helped it inflame my joints even more… No, I'll help you get people to go, I do have some—er—techniques I haven't used yet, but I do think one of us should stay behind here, and, well, protect our families, worst come to worst. Some of you may never come back and we don't want the children to be left parentless or grandparentless. I'll continue to recruit for all of you, I've already moved to the Magical Enforcement Office…"

"It's true, I wouldn't want them left alone…You seemed to have this pretty well planned, yeah?" asked Harry.

"I've been turning it over in my mind for months," Hermione admitted.

And so it had come to pass that Hermione stayed in Great Britain as a last defense measure, as she would protect their families.

She engineered a massive plan to protect all she knew, worst come to worse. At its center was herself: she became Secret Keeper for the Fidelius Charm for the main house, protecting the Secret Keepers for the rest of their families. In secrecy they lived, unsure of what was to come.

And Hermione waited, waited until a small, black owl brought home news.

The owl flew in and dropped the letter off on her kitchen counter. Before Hermione even looked up from the newspaper, the owl was gone. Glancing downwards, she saw the letter, tidily rolled up and tied in a neat red ribbon. She was nervous about what it could mean and anxious to read it. Taking a deep breath, she strode over to the counter, snatched up the letter and began to read.

Dear Hermione,

Things haven't been going too well. Since we got here, we haven't had a moment's peace. We could never write, or they could trace us back to Britain. But I had to chance this letter. It's time you know what we've seen, and I need to tell someone about it, I'd go crazy if I didn't…

I've never seen so many dark wizards so intent on destroying. Not all of them are gifted, but all of them want to kill. Led by Xuan Wu (you can spot his goatee a mile away), they've begun sweeping through the lands we arrived in. All of us were optimistic at first, but we were fools. We had no idea what was to come.

We've done our best to put up a fight, but our best hasn't been enough. We've lost almost everyone. Our last battle was a blood bath… Xuan Wu came right to us, picking everyone off, one by one, like we were Wispy Flies… I've never seen something so terrible as him. He makes Voldemort seem as nice and good as a Pygmy Puff. You remember those? George and Fred bred them back when they were both alive…

It was pure luck I survived. I guess my Bat-Boogey hex through off some of my enemies and let me escape, but it was sheer dumb luck if you ask me…Before I fled the battle, I saw Harry fighting him, fighting the Dark Lord. Harry reminded me of Dumbledore, Hermione, but unlink Dumbledore, Harry was fighting to kill. And you know what? Harry didn't kill that bastard. Nothing could stop the Dark Lord, and Harry…

I saw Harry die, Hermione. Watched my husband die in front of me. And I saw Ron die too. My brother, he's always there for me, he's been a prat, but he's always been there. Luna, Neville… all dead. I feel like half of me is missing. Everything I do is mechanical. There's been too much blood…

Hermione, you're going to have to fight too. Before Harry died, he told me to warn you. He told me that you should protect the Elder wand, keep it away from the Dark Lord at all costs, which Xuan Wu can now wield... Hide it, Hermione. Hide it away. If he ever finds it, his reign of darkness may never end. You must remove it from Dumbledore's tomb and place it somewhere he'd never find…

It's hard to admit, but after what I've seen, I'll probably be dead by the time this letter arrives.

I wrote this letter to warn you Hermione. Use it well.

Be safe, Hermione. Take care of my children.

Love,

Ginerva Potter

Hermione sobbed, silently shedding tears and soaking the parchment through. She couldn't stop crying. It had been her fault for sending all of them off to the fight, and it had been her fault they died. She should have gone too, maybe if she had been there, things would be different. Maybe as a team, they could have defeated the Dark Lord. Together. She had lost her husband, her friends, the people who loved her. They were gone.

You can't think that way, Hermione. You have to move on. You've come too far to stop now; you stayed so you could protect your families and give them a mother and a grandmother. It was the right choice, she thought, trying to convince herself that it was true. She tried to convince herself that she made the right the decision, but never could. She felt a guilt that overcame her, that convinced her that she was a coward.

She waited months for it to happen. She expected the day would finally come when the Dark Lord would arrive. But when he came, she was still surprised. Her time had come and he would take her, and if he ever found the wand she had carefully hidden, he might take the world, plunging the earth into darkness.

And here she was, in the Ministry of Magic, facing the Dark Lord at last. She faced him, and thought of all the people she had lost in her life because of evil.

Dobby gone, knife through the heart.

Hermione looked up into the man's slimy eyes, staring evil in the face.

Fred killed, a smile left on his face forever in death.

Her eyes fell to her wand, which fell in surprise…

George committed suicide, too alone in the world to go on and leaving laughter behind.

Her hand inched towards her wand, growing ever nearer.

Sirius fallen through the veil and into the great beyond.

Her fingers touched it.

Cedric Diggory, an acquaintance, killed by Avada Kadavra.

She grasped her wand, feeling the magic.

Dumbledore murdered, murdered by his greed but also his love.

Her eyes flew back up to the Dark Lord, where they would stay.

Snape slaughtered for something as trivial as a wand.

Her lips pursed, a look of determination settling on her face.

Mad-Eye Moody shot down as he flew to his death, betrayed by a coward.

Her eyes narrowed dangerously.

Lupin murdered in battle, fighting to protect Harry.

She raised her wand, threatening the Dark Lord.

Tonks dead, slayed by a stray curse thrown by Bellatrix Lestrange.

The Dark Lord smiled at her, but Hermione paid no mind.

Hedwig, Harry's friend, slaughtered, an innocent in the way of evil.

The spell flew into her mind. She knew it was time for it.

Countless others lost, friends seen, friends unseen, Muggles just trying to live in a world that didn't understand them, couldn't understand them. This was for them, for the innocents, for the brave, for the people she loved—

"Avada Kedavra," she screamed with all of her might, channeling her hate for evil into the spell. The green light danced out of her wand and stroke the man dead center in his chest. For a moment, Hermione looked triumphant. But then her look of triumph disintegrated. The man in front of her stood quite still. He had not died. He had, instead, begun to laugh. A sinister, evil cackle escaped through his lips.

"Do you think that you, a simple witch, has any chance against me, the greatest wizard this world has ever seen?" he drawled, his voice somewhat accented. Hermione was speechless. "Did you think you could kill me, when the greatest in the world have failed? You mock me." Hermione continued casting spells, but nothing seemed to touch him.

"Reducto! Sectumsempra! Viscus mica!" she screamed, watching the jets of light fly forward, each of them hitting the man in front of her, but doing nothing…

"Avada Kedavra."

The last thing Hermione saw was the green light, coming towards her, enveloping her completely.

A/N: Rowling made peace seem to last throughout the rest of Harry's life, but I seriously doubt that to be possible. Another Dark Lord would rise much too easily, and that is the premise of this story, which will carry us into the next chapter, where Hermione's real story unfolds itself.

Other A/N: For those wondering why Hermione's last name is still Granger, she never changed it when she got married. It was a matter of upholding her Muggleborn heritage and pride in who she was as a witch.