The whole world paused when Hermione walked down the stairwell in front of the Great Hall on the night of the Yule Ball. She had an uncommon air of confidence, her eyes shone with esoteric knowledge. She was a different girl — quite literally.
A/N: This story is quite a bit AU! It picks up years after DH in an unsavory future where the Order lost the Final Battle. It starts off showing an angry Hermione right before she travels back in time with a group of unexpected companions to change the future. The story will not steer away from dark topics or issues of power and the stupidity of youth. For the moment it'll be rated T but could change to M in later chapters — we'll see when that time comes.
This chapter should clarify where the story is starting off at — but please let me know if it's unclear!
Chapter 1: The Future's Not Pretty, Let's Leave
"Remus," the determined witch pleaded, "You must let us go."
Standing up from her chair, she leaned over his dark wood desk nestled in the corner room of the Grimauld Place hallway. With a growing sense of urgency, she muttered, "We're your last chance."
Sitting back in his chair, the aging werewolf lifted a hand to his now-sparse blond hair, as if to find comfort in combing it into place. He sighed, with an exhaustion built out of years of fighting to merely stay alive, and responded to the woman,
"The Order simply cannot gamble on losing the four of you. You're special. Talented. The best we have, really."
"What better reason to use us! You said it yourself: We're the best."
"And it's for that very reason I — err, the Order — cannot take such a risk."
"It's a calculated risk."
"Fine, fine. But even if you had thought out every detail, there are other..." he paused, taking a moment to consider a delicate phrasing, "concerns I have."
"Concerns?" She laughed, losing her composure "Like what? Losing the last member of your patchwork family — the make-believe teenage daughter you played house with before the Resistance assembled?"
She took a pause as he flinched. She knew how much she knew he was hurting him, but pushed on nonetheless.
"We both know I'm not her anymore, Remus."
"I do know, and that is precisely why I cannot send you off to another time!"
"Admit it." She stood up taller, "I'm greater than you could ever imagine, and it scares you."
The professor took a deep breath and searched her eyes for a glimpse of the girl he once knew like family. After the First Battle, most of the Light had lost hope. Even the most active and enthusiastic members of the Order were scattered and disheartened. At the end of the battle, the Dark rounded up almost anyone they had yet to kill, including Ron Weasley who had yet to be found. Hermione and Remus ran into each other three weeks later, both hiding in the underbelly of wizarding London, both seeking refuge as scourges of the newly implemented government.
The two together reasoned that, although the death of Dumbledore made everyone else aware of the location of 12 Grimmauld Place a secret keeper, they were likely the only two members of the Order of the Phoenix remaining able to access the ancestral home. Although there was a chance a captured member gave away the location of the meeting place, they reckoned they could easily enough reclaim the place and resecure the wards. Surely enough, the two found Grimmauld Place nearly untouched, confirmation in their minds that they were two of the only remaining members of the previously sizable group. Remus became a fatherly figure to the broken-hearted Hermione, who had lost not only her best friend but her boyfriend over the past several weeks. As they learned to survive together, they healed together.
Together they learned what they had to do to survive in the new Wizarding Britain. They learned grey-area magic to coerce muggles to do their grocery shopping and to create even stronger wards. After the eventual arrival of Tonks and Charlie Weasley, the Order was reborn out of the few surviving members of the Order of the Phoenix. They raided Death Eater fortresses and prominent homes to search for friends taken captive during the First War and divvied up tasks on defense, offensive strategy and research. Charlie became the Head of Strategy and Tonks took charge of leading raids. Remus set to researching defensive and warding magic for their home and new . Naturally, Hermione became Head of Intelligence for the Order, spending her days researching dark magic and its powerful users — but not without the work taking its toll.
Remus was heart-broken over what the twenty-three year-old had become: lost and longing for vengeance. Her once-kind heart was calloused by a desire for justice. She had always been smart, but now had the wisdom of living through the horrors of war. He always feared there was some part of her that would get lost in the pain, but he never would have guessed she would fall for the false promises of the dark arts she researched. Yet, he held onto the hope that, somewhere deep down, there was still a shred of the tender-hearted member of the Golden Trio.
"You don't scare me, Hermione."
In his kind response, her cold façade faltered momentarily. Looking softly at her favorite professor, she opened her mouth to say something, when suddenly the floor beneath them shook. Dust from the books haphazardly piled on the shelves clouded the room and the piles of sundry knickknacks clanked.
The door burst open as the three other youth awaiting the verdict on their plan tumbled into the room. A tousled brunet with prominent eyebrows spoke:
"Lupin, we're under attack. We don't have nearly enough men —"
The tall, green-eyed girl stopped in her tracks to cough obnoxiously.
"Not the time, Daph," the boy said pointedly, punctuating each word upon continuing, "Or women — to take them."
"What a time for righteous, feminist indignation," the white blond figure still leaning in the doorway coolly drawled, then turned to Lupin, "The fight will stay downstairs for now, but I reckon you have about three minutes to make a decision, Moony."
The four looked at their superior, their collective countenance conveying an insistence that their plan would be successful in ending the rule of the Dark Lord.
Remus looked down, as if to survey the truth behind the announced attack. He heard the struggle and sighed, then turned to look up at the foursome.
"I'll do it," Remus finally said.
The young adults shared a sympathetic glance among themselves, mourning Remus' decision. As much as they counted on it, they regretted witholding such a pertinent detail from him.
"It's risky magic," Remus sighed, "But I should be able to keep it open for about thirty seconds."
From there, Hermione took over, "The important thing is that you all make it through; I'll stay to defend the entrance until it's about to close so as to ensure we don't have any unwanted tagalongs. If all goes as planned, we'll wake up immediately in our younger selves. Now, someone protect the door."
Remus began to mutter a chant and move his wand in a large circle. The room surged forward with the force of the erupting wormhole. A powerful wind drew the four toward the vacuous space torn in the room.
"GO! NOW." Remus yelled, hearing footsteps rampaging up the stairs.
Unfortunately, dark magic strong enough to rupture the space-time continuum is a greedy thing. Even as Remus finished the incantation, he began screaming as the core of his power was ripped from his being to fuel the spell.
The tall one leaning in the doorframe crossed the room in a few quick paces and disappeared instantly through the portal. Behind him, the portal began to shut. Daphne knew what her role was. A flash of green light left her wand, and Remus fell as a sacrifice for the future.
Daphne and the other boy scurried through the portal. Hermione paused to look at Remus. She nodded her head in respect and disappeared into the darkness.
A/N: I'm updating this chapter by chapter before continuing on with the story! I've finally made the big move from the US to French university and have a lot more free time now (yay for extra time for fan fic!), so get ready for more updates very, very soon.
If anyone has any interest in beta-ing, let me know!
Review, review, review, please :)