-.-
Chapter 4
Once More, With Feeling
-.-
May, 3rd 2004.
Harry trudged toward Dumbledore's office. The headmaster had asked him to come up to the school to discuss something Dumbledore had called 'gravely important.' Harry gave the password and stepped onto the spiral staircase. As he rode the slowly revolving staircase, a terrible pain shot through Harry's head, nearly causing him to collapse. As the pain subsided, Harry realized it had worked. He had successfully returned to the past. Smiling, Harry pushed open the door to Dumbledore's office.
"You wanted to see me, Professor?" Harry said, pretending he had no idea what Dumbledore wanted. He supposed it would be best to maintain as much of the timeline as possible, even the little things.
"Ah, Harry! Yes, come in, come in. Take a seat. Would you like a lemon drop?" Dumbledore asked.
"No thanks, Professor." Harry responded, taking a seat in front of the Headmaster's desk.
"Ah, well." said Dumbledore taking a seat behind his desk and gazing at Harry. He sighed, and continued. "What I am about to tell you is very important, Harry." He looked around the office as though to make certain no one was listening in. "Our lead scientist is currently working on a new potion which, when drunk, will protect the drinker from the Unforgivable Curses." Harry hesitated, not entirely certain what to say. He elected to seem happy and surprised.
"That's great, sir!"
"Please, Harry, let me finish. Unfortunately, Lord Voldemort has discovered this and he wishes to capture our scientist and force her to create the potion for him and his Death Eaters. As such, I am requesting that you protect her from harm. Were she to be captured or killed, the consequences would be more terrible that you can possibly imagine."
"Alright," said Harry. "I'll do it. Who is she?"
"Oh, I think you'll remember her. She was a good friend in school. Ms. Hermione Granger?" Remembering that he had had no desire to meet Hermione the first time around, Harry decided to keep that part of the past intact as well.
"What!" Harry exclaimed, leaping from his seat. "You expect me to... Are you... NO!"
"Harry, you must!" Dumbledore exclaimed.
"I can't!" Harry replied grimly. "She hates me."
"Ah, yes. The Anti-Muggleborn Decree," said Dumbledore gravely. "Yes, I remember how angry she was."
"I knew she would be," said Harry sadly. She thinks I betrayed her!"
"In a sense, you did," said Dumbledore. "Why don't you just tell her the truth?"
"What? Tell a girl who has despised me for five years that I love her? And that's why I practically kicked her out of the magical world... only to find out that she's in just as much danger as she was then?"
"Precisely!" Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling. "Now, will you do this? Will you guard Ms. Granger?"
"No, I won't, and there's no way you're making me do this!"
-.-
"I'm glad he made me do this." Harry said as he strode to the door of an old manor house. The dwelling was situated far from any other population centers. While Harry had only spent a few days there, he still couldn't imagine Hermione wanting to live in a place like this. He knocked on the door. He heard the sound of shuffling feet, a click, and the door opened.
"Well?" she asked when Harry stood in the doorway, not speaking. "Are you going to come in or not. I'm very busy."
"I… uh…" It was obvious that Hermione was yet to perform the spell. They'd done it so Harry would get there first and arrive at Hermione's house just as she was returning to the past. Something must have gone wrong.
"So…"
"Look," Hermione interrupted him. "You don't like me, and I sure as hell don't like you, and despite what Dumbledore thinks, I'm quite capable of defending myself. Unfortunately, I can't convince him of that. So, to satisfy the Order…" Hermione broke off, looking lightheaded. She swayed slightly on the spot, and then collapsed. Harry caught her before she hit the floor and carried her into the living room. As he was placing her on the couch, she began to wake.
"What happened?" she asked weakly.
"You passed out, that's what happened." Harry explained. "What took you so long? I mean, this is you, right? Not past you, but… the you from the future, or…"
"If I was me from the past… or the present… depending on which way you look at it… I hate time travel. Anyway, if you started talking like that to me from this point in time, I'd have thought you were crazy."
"So what took you so long?" asked Harry. "You were supposed to be here when I arrived."
"Harry… just as we were about to cast the spell, the shield went down. I don't know how it happened. Grindelwald's army flooded into the city, burning everything in sight. They reached the Bank of America building just as I cast the spell. They won't be able to stop them all."
"Don't worry about that." Harry said. "We're going to change all this."
"We are," said Hermione firmly. "I've been thinking about how we're going to have to go about this, and I'm thinking that we might be able to stop Voldemort earlier than we did before. We have future knowledge of everything that's going to happen. We know where, when and how Voldemort will strike. We've just got to make sure we prevent his attacks."
"How?" Harry asked. "I mean, don't you haveto be captured by Voldemort when he attacks the school in a couple of months in order to keep the future on track? And what about the Halliwells and the Book of Shadows? Not to mention Malfoy and everything he caused." Hermione slumped back against the couch, clearly deep in thought.
"Did you like living out here?" Harry asked suddenly.
"What?" asked Hermione, surprised by the sudden change of subject.
"I mean, instead of in the city?"
"Sort of…" she said after a moment. "I love the manor, but… I like things quieter than life at the manor…" She trailed off, slipping back into the realm of deep thought she had been in before Harry had spoken.
Harry's eyes trailed down Hermione's body, noticing the differences that seven years could make. Her hazel eyes had a sparkle in them that had long since faded from the Hermione he knew. The cuts, bruises and scars from nearly seven years of war were nowhere to be found. She had an aura of innocence about her that Harry hadn't seen in a long time.
"What do you think is happening in the future?" Harry asked after ten minutes of silence. Hermione shook her head.
"I don't know." she said sadly.
"Well," said Harry, standing and offering his hand to Hermione. She accepted, and Harry helped her to her feet. "I assume you have a plan."
"Yes," Hermione responded after a moment. "Sleep," Hermione paused and waved her hand at a lamp on the coffee table. Nothing happened. "We'll have to go and meet Dumbledore once we get our powers. For now, though, I could use some rest."
-.-
April 20th, 2011
"Sir, San Francisco… it's gone."
"New York is the same. It would seem Hogwarts and Magic School are the only safe places left in the world."
"Professor… what happened in California… I…"
"It isn't your fault, Catherine," Dumbledore interrupted her. "You did your best. It's up to your mother and father now. They'll either succeed, or they'll fail. It's out of our hands now."
"But… but Phoebe and Piper… they… and Ginny and Danielle, they… they're…"
"I know. Trust me when I say their loss has been difficult for us all. If your parents succeed, they will be saved. If not, it won't matter. If they fail, I daresay they will be far better off where they are than they would be here."
"Do you think they can do it? I mean, if they were going to succeed, wouldn't the future have already changed?" Dumbledore shook his head.
"The future is always changing, Catherine. Nothing is set in stone until it actually takes place. Until Grindelwald is destroyed, the future will not change." Catherine nodded and stood to her feet. She made to leave the headmaster's office, paused at the door, and moved back to Dumbledore's desk.
"Sir," she said. "What will happen to us if they get him?" A long moment of silence followed this question.
"Honestly, I do not know," Dumbledore admitted. "This war has seen more meddling with time than the magical world has ever known. It is possible that we would simply cease to exist. None of us would currently be doing what we are doing were it not for the war. I would guess that time would alter itself to suit any changes that are made." Catherine nodded, apparently satisfied, and left the office.
Ron, Luna, Paige, Elizabeth, and Hope, the only survivors from San Francisco, awaited her in the corridor. None of them spoke until they had all taken seats in the Great Hall.
"What did he have to say?" Paige asked. Catherine sighed.
"He's not really certain what's going to happen any more than we are. He did say that Mum and Dad are the only people he knows of who could pull this off."
"Yeah," Ron said. "But they're in the past. They couldn't stop Grindelwald when they had us at their side, not to mention their powers had advanced ten-fold. What chance do they have now?"
-.-
"Do you remember this night?"
"Yeah… it was quiet," said Hermione, leaning back in one of the lawn chairs perched out on the second floor balcony. "It was so… unexplainably quiet."
"But then, you like quiet." Harry reminded her from the chair to her left as he leaned forward to freshen his glass of lemonade.
"I do," Hermione admitted. "It's strange though, it's never this quiet here."
"Do you… do you think he knows?" she asked after a few silent minutes.
"Who?" Harry asked her.
"Grindelwald," said Hermione.
"What's he supposed to know, exactly?"
"That we've come back. That we're not the us from this time."
"I don't know," Harry said plainly. "But God… if he does we don't stand a chance."
Hermione leaned back against the pillows on her bed, her eyes slipping closed. Harry watched her thoughtfully for a moment, then stood to his feet. He moved to Hermione's desk and took out a roll of parchment, ink, and quill. He hurriedly loaded up his quill and began to write.
Dear Catherine,
I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if you simply threw this letter away when you get it, Kat. If you do, that's okay, I would understand. I just have something important to tell you, something you're not going to believe. I have to tell you face to face. It's too important to explain here, but you can meet me at Hogsmeade tomorrow and we can talk.
There is something I want to say here, but I'm not certain how to say it. I am sorry with how we left things. I… never loved Ginny, not really. I thought I did, but… I didn't. I always loved you… to be honest, I still do. Even to this day, I love you. Even after I found out… but now I'm getting ahead of myself.
I'm with Hermione Granger right now. I'm certain you remember her. Well, she's working on a potion that's very difficult to make. I think you might be able to help her… us.
With love,
Harry
"Hedwig!" Harry called, finishing up the letter. His shout woke Hermione who had fallen asleep while he'd been writing. She stood to her feet and moved to his side. As Hedwig flew through the open window, Hermione began reading the letter over Harry's shoulder.
"You still love her?" Hermione asked curiously as Harry folded up the letter. Harry tied the letter to Hedwig's leg. The owl had flown out of the window and vanished from sight before Harry answered.
"Yeah," he said. "I do. It's weird. I mean, it's not the same way I feel about you… you… words can't describe how I feel about you, Mione. It's just… we were together for a long time. What we had, what we were… we had a strong connection. I'm not attracted to her or anything like that, that's not what I'm saying. It… it's hard to explain." Hermione seemed to ponder these words for a moment, then said;
"What were your thoughts when you found out who she was? I mean, how did you feel, knowing everything that had happened between the two of you?"
"I honestly don't know. I guess I felt like… falling off the face of the Earth…." Harry paused, looking at his hands. He looked up at her, tears in his eyes. "There's something I never told you, Hermione."
"And what's that?" Hermione asked, gripping Harry's hand.
"Catherine was pregnant." Hermione's jaw dropped.
"What…?"
"She told me just before the first battle at Hogwarts," said Harry. "I didn't even…" he trailed off.
"My god…" Hermione whispered. "Why didn't you tell me?" Harry scoffed.
"Tell you that I'd gotten our daughter pregnant?" Harry held his face in his hands. "I have hated myself every moment of every day for the time she and I spent together. The things we did…"
"That was a different time," said Hermione in a very firm voice. "Neither of you knew. If it's anyone's fault, it's Dumbledore's. He knew, but he kept the truth from you."
"It's not that simple, Hermione. I slept with my own daughter. We were going to have a baby… a family. Catherine being back… seeing her again and remembering the past… it's been hard." It was at this point that Harry broke down completely. He sobbed into Hermione's chest. A
fter awhile, Hermione moved them onto the bed. Harry could never remember exactly how long they laid there, but the next thing Harry knew, he was lying in bed with Hermione, using her chest as a pillow. Her right hand gently stroked his head, while the other gripped his hand tightly. Harry looked up curiously at her.
"What time is it?" He asked, shaking his head.
"About noon…" Hermione said with a yawn.
"Noon!" Harry exclaimed. "But it was only six in the evening when I wrote that letter."
"Yes," Hermione said with another yawn. "I suppose it was."
"Did you go to sleep?" Harry inquired.
"For a few hours." Hermione muttered, exhaustion filling her voice. "We missed that meeting with Dumbledore. We were supposed to learn that the Charmed Ones were dead and learn that we'd gotten their powers."
"Fucking up already?" Harry sighed. "Not a good omen for the future."
"Little things… won't change much. It's the big things I'm concerned with. I mean, we're never going to be able to be at the exact place at the exact time, or say the same things. It's too much to remember. We have to do the best we can to keep the major events on track. I suppose…." A brilliant, blinding flash of light illuminated the room. Two figures appeared, both of them eyeing Harry and Hermione curiously.
"Hope…?" Hermione asked, shocked. "Elizabeth? What the hell are you doing here?"
"We've come back to warn you." Hope said. "The future is messed up worse than you know. We're here to help you fix it."
