CHAPTER TEN
Summary: What if Hermione was given a second chance to save the world? What if Lily Potter wasn't the one to protect Harry from the Killing Curse? It's the time of the First War and Voldemort is on the rise, but that soon changes with the arrival a young witch that is hell-bent on destroying him, no matter what it may cost her in the process. Rated M for a reason!
Disclaimer: I do not own canon events or characters, they belong to J.K Rowling. I'm not making money from this writing or posting this either.
Page count: 11
The Burrow – Monday 14th December 1981
Hermione, Remus, James, Harry and Sirius apparated just outside of the Burrow's wards and once they landed, they slowly made their way to the very familiar house.
Hermione knocked on the door and Mrs. Weasley opened it, ushering everyone inside and away from the newly dusted snowy grounds. As usual, she pulled everyone into a hug, except when it came to Hermione, she held on a little longer and squeezed so tight, Hermione thought her spine had been dislodged.
"It's good to see you again, Dear," she whispered in Hermione's ear. The Marauders left the two alone, giving them some privacy and headed into the living room where the rest of the Weasleys could be found.
"It's good to be back here, back to safety," Hermione responded.
Mrs Weasley pulled back from her, tears swimming in her eyes. "I can feel it," Mrs. Weasley spoke and Hermione looked confused. "Your magic, Dear," she clarified. "The Burrow was built with magic and for some reason, I can feel your magic mixing with the magic of the Burrow, almost as if it recognises you, like you've been here before and this is your home."
Hermione couldn't stop it, her words seeming to wipe away her worries that she'd never have the relationship with the Weasleys that she'd had in her timeline. She was helpless to stop it and tears sprang to her eyes, rolling down her cheeks as Mrs. Weasley pulled her back into a hug, a hand rubbing circles on her back comfortingly.
"I have no way to repay you for what you've done for my family, both in this timeline and your original timeline. Fabian and Gideon told me that you were tortured for information about my family and you never revealed anything. I'm sorry that happened to you."
"It won't happen to anyone else; that's why I'm here, to protect everyone."
"But who protects you?" Mrs. Weasley asked softly but her question went unanswered as Hermione wiped away her tears, pulled back from the older witch and entered the very memorable living room that was bustling with activity.
Three-year-old Fred and George appeared to be annoying Percy as he sat on an armchair reading a book with his rat in hand. An almost four-month-old Ginny was being held by her father, who was busy conversing with Remus and James. Ron and Harry were sat on the floor playing together with stuffed dragons, a recently turned nine-year-old Charlie was play-fighting with Sirius, and a recently turned eleven-year-old Bill, noticed her enter the room and he stood from the ground and beamed at her.
"I knew you couldn't resist my charm," he said smugly. The adults in the room turned to look towards them at his words before they laughed, clearly amused.
"Well, it looks as though you have another competitor to worry about," Remus sniggered with James and Sirius rolling their eyes amused.
"It's great to see you, too, Bill," Hermione spoke amused, moving to sit on one of the couches.
"Mimi!" Harry called from his place on the floor and Hermione looked down at him. "Roro!" He called, pointing to Ron before clapping his hands together and they chuckled at him. Smiling, Hermione slipped off the couch and onto the ground, sitting beside the two young children.
"And The Golden Trio is back together again," she commented softly, the adults chuckling whilst the children looked confused.
She removed her wand from her pocket and went about casting some bubbles that floated in the air and the two boys clapped their hands, giggling as they tried to catch them.
"Hello, Percy," Hermione greeted and Percy shyly smiled at her. "How's the little guy doing?"
"His name's Eugene," he spoke, holding the rat up so she could see. "I've been taking good care of him like I promised," he said proudly.
"I knew would, Percy and Eugene is a wonderful name," she praised, earning a beaming grin in response. "Charlie," she said, drawing his attention. "I have a late birthday present for you," she explained, it having been his birthday two days prior.
Excited by her words, he immediately stopped play-fighting with Sirius and crossed over to Hermione as she busied herself with removing a book from her beaded bag, handing it to him once he stood before her.
Seeing the title of the book and the image of a dragon carved on the front, his eyes widened. "Thanks, Mia," he said excitedly, flinging his arms around her neck and giving her a quick hug before pulling away and delving straight into the book, the adults shaking their heads amused.
"Where's my present?" Bill pouted.
Hermione chuckled, motioning for him to come closer and then she pecked him on the cheek. He released sigh, rubbing his cheek in a daze and the others snorted at him. Fred and George stepped away from Percy and stood in front of her, and there it was, their sparkling turquoise eyes that made her heart clench painfully.
As much as she loved Percy, she and he had never really been that close whereas she'd grown up with Fred and George. She'd argued with them, she'd fought with them, she'd eventually agreed to help them with their more difficult products so long as they put age restrictions on their products, and she'd been to battle with them. For that reason, Fred's death affected her more and she remembered seeing the usual sparkle in his eyes being dull in his death.
Her breath caught and her chest tightened, she felt the world spinning around her, her head going dizzy. Before she knew it, Sirius was on his knees beside her and rubbing comforting circles on her back.
"Breathe, just breathe and you'll be fine," he murmured into her ear softly. "Nothing will happen to him, to them. They're safe because of you and nothing will hurt them. Just breathe," he coaxed.
Hermione listened to his words carefully, allowing them to calm her and slowly regained control of her breathing, the pain in her chest and the fuzziness in her mind fading. She nodded to herself and sent a grateful smile to Sirius.
'Prewett Twins, two: Marauders, five' he thought proudly.
She looked back to Fred and George, giving them a bright smile and they grinned back.
"I'm Fred -"
"- I'm George -"
"- What's your name?"
She stifled a chuckle, understanding that they'd started their 'twin speak' a lot earlier in their lives than she'd previously thought. But not only that, they'd swapped names, too, but Hermione could tell them apart even at their young age of three.
"My name's Mia," she replied.
Fred and George both grasped her hand in theirs and together they shook it melodramatically, much like the time they'd done to Harry in third year when they were making fun of Percy. She laughed along with everyone else.
"Do we get presents?" They asked clearly. She wasn't at all that surprised at how advanced their speech seemed to be for their age; she knew how intelligent they'd grow to be.
Hermione smiled. "Of course, I have a surprise for you both, but after lunch. It needs to be done outside." They grinned at each other.
"Right, everyone, lunch is ready," Mrs. Weasley called, as everyone soon made their way to the kitchen and they took their seats around the magically enlarged table. The food was dished out and conversation flowed and laughter was loud.
"So, Hermione, what can you tell me about my children?" Mrs. Weasley asked, making sure none of the children heard her.
Hermione smiled. "Well, Bill, I didn't spend much time with as he was quite a bit older than me and he was always out of the country for work. He was a curse break for Gringotts."
"A curse breaker?" She asked, looking both proud and pleased.
"Not just any curse breaker, one of the best in Britain. I remember you once visited him the summer before third year in Egypt. He travelled a lot, but he was brilliant at it. He received brilliant marks in his OWLs and NEWTs, he was head boy, and he played as a chaser on the Quidditch team."
Molly beamed. "And Charlie?"
"As Charlie was so much older I rarely spent time with him, but Charlie was a dragon tamer in Romania." Mrs. Weasley's eyes widened. "Again, one of the best and he was incredible with the dragons, I saw him at the Final Battle with one and it was mesmerising to watch how they interacted. How the dragon seemed to have complete trust in Charlie." Hermione said proudly and looking down the table at him to see him engrossed in the book she'd given him and she chuckled. "He had his fair share of tattoos and scars but they come with the territory."
"Tattoos? Scars?" She said horrified. Hermione chuckled.
"Yes, but even though you disagreed with his career choice and the fact that he lived in another country, you were still proud of him. I know he's going to enter the same career path judging by the way he's gripping that book," she said amused. "Anyway, he received good results on his OWLs and NEWTs and he was the Captain of Gryffindor Quidditch team. He played seeker, he was quite good from what I remember being told."
"Percy?"
"Percy was very efficient, he abided by every school rule; I don't even think he snuck out of the common room for a midnight snack." Hermione chuckled along with Mrs. Weasley. "He was prefect and head boy and he received good OWLs and NEWTs. He worked at the Ministry and then he was promoted to Junior Assistant for the Minister of Magic."
"Fred and George?"
"Well, I've already told you quite a lot about them; they're very mischievous and I'm sorry to say, it's only going to get worse. I wouldn't be surprised as they get older if you hear strange noises coming from their room or see smoke pouring from beneath." Mrs. Weasley released a groaning sigh. "They got three OWLs each and didn't stay for their NEWTs but I don't blame them for leaving with that hideous woman parading around. But this time it might be different, they left a month before their exams, maybe they'll stick around this time," she shrugged. "I have no doubt they'll open their joke shop and you saw from my memories how successful and brilliant they are."
Mrs. Weasley nodded with a small smile. "Ron?"
Hermione sighed. "Ron, he was...He was brilliant at wizard's chess, I've never seen anyone beat him. He made prefect and he achieved fairly good grades on his OWLs. We never had the chance to take our NEWTs due to Dumbledore's death and needing to complete the mission we were given." Molly put her hand over Hermione's and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Ron was hot-tempered, he had a very short fuse. He could go from a gentle and calming waterfall to a thunderous sea storm in less than a second. He couldn't conceal his emotions and he struggled to deal with his emotions, too."
"Ginny?"
"She was stubborn and terrifying when she was mad. She had all her brothers wrapped around her little finger and because she looked so innocent, people underestimated her and that was their mistake. She could be ruthless when it came down to it. Hell, I faltered once or twice under her glare." Mrs. Weasley chuckled. "She was smart and observant, she didn't miss a thing. You'll have to keep an eye on her, given their ages, the twins spent the most time with Ginny and they were a bad influence on her, Ron avoided them when they were together," she chuckled. "And I should probably tell you, Fred's wearing the white jumper and George the blue"
Mrs. Weasley's head snapped up. "Fred's wearing the blue jumper and George the white," she frowned slightly.
"No, they swapped. I noticed it as soon as I walked through the door. When they introduced themselves to me they swapped names, too," she said amused and Mrs Weasley sighed.
"How do you tell them apart?"
"I'm not entirely sure; I've always been able to do it."
When lunch was finished, the children were bundled up in warm coats and knitted scarves and hats and they let outside to play in the snow whilst the adults sat on the porch, watching them attentively.
"So, out of curiosity, how much time did you spend here?" Sirius asked her, letting out a laugh when Charlie hit Bill in the face with a snowball.
"From my first year onwards, I practically lived here. I know this place like the back of my hand; I can tell you where the lake is, where the tree house is, where the best place to take a nap is. Growing up we would wander the forest and name every deer and wild rabbit we came across. At the moment, I would say I know this place better than the children, they're not old enough to wander the full grounds by themselves yet."
"There's a tree house?" Mr. and Mrs. Weasley as surprised, clearly not being aware of its existence.
"Yes, there is, but I'm not telling you where it is. Rule number one, no adults are allowed to know the whereabouts of the secret tree fort," she replied and they chuckled.
Hermione's attention was pulled when Fred and George ran unsteadily over to the porch, almost slipping in the snow. "Can we have our surprise now?" They asked excited and Hermione chuckled.
"Yes, you can have it now," she agreed, standing and crossing over to them, Fred and George grabbing a hand each and dragging her away from the porch and towards the other children.
Hermione dropped their hands and with fast reflexes, she plucked George up from the ground and he laughed loudly as she held him upside down. Chuckling at him, she turned him back the right way up, settled him on her hip and she pulled her wand from her pocket.
"Okay, you're going to help me," she said and he nodded excitedly. "Put your hand on my wand." He did as she asked and she covered his hand with her own, aiming the tip towards the sky.
"Opus Ignis Leonis," she muttered, a bright beam of light bursting from the tip of her wand and straight into the sky.
It exploded into a variety of bright colours with the particles slowly falling from the sky before they floated back up and joined together, forming into a large golden lion that let out a roar before it disappeared from view.
Fred and George stared at the sky transfixed, as did the adults and children. She turned around to see them staring in awe at the display.
"What? Gryffindor pride," Hermione commented they snorted at her.
"Wow!" Fred and George beamed in wonder as they grinned at Hermione.
"My turn, Mia!" Fred tugged on her coat. Hermione chuckled but she set George back on the ground and picked up Fred, setting him on her hip the way she had George.
"Just as George did, place your hand on my wand," she instructed and when he did and she covered his hand with hers and pointed her wand towards the sky once more.
"Opus Ignis Cervo," she muttered, a beam of light flying from the tip of her wand and littered the sky with sparkling colours before it turned into a stag. "Lupus Erant," she said and the process repeated itself, this time creating a werewolf. "Canis!" This created a large dog and finally, she spoke, "Vulpes," creating a fox. The four animals made out of fireworks looked down at everyone from the sky. "Praedonum," she called and a beam of light spelt out 'Marauders' in red and gold.
They all stared in surprise, the Marauders standing from their chairs and applauding loudly as they whistled. She placed Fred back on his feet and then she bowed, Fred and George quickly following her lead.
"That's the best thing I've ever seen!" James commented impressed and she smiled at him.
"Mum! Mum! We did magic!" The twins called excitedly, running over to their parents and tugging on their clothing as they spoke over one another, their parents chuckling at them.
"You've got to teach me how to do that," Bill shouted suddenly from his place beside a half-built snowman.
"When you're seventeen, I will," she promised, earning a grin from the eldest Weasley child.
~000~000~000~
Sirius' Apartment
"So, everyone's fed and happy, Harry's in bed and Remus has gone shopping as it's his turn, now, tell us," James spoke, plopping down on the couch.
"Tell you what?"
"About these Horcruxes," Sirius rolled his eyes.
"The first one we're going to destroy is Ravenclaw's diadem which is hidden on the seventh floor of Hogwarts in the Room of Hidden Things. Hopefully, it hasn't been moved otherwise it could take decades to find it. We're going over to Hogwarts during the break but seeing as not all of the students will be going home, we need to be in and out as quick as possible."
"Diadem first, then what?" James asked.
"Well, I don't just need to deal with the diadem whilst at Hogwarts, I need to visit the Chamber of Secrets; the basilisk's still there but dormant. It needs to be destroyed so there isn't even a remote chance of it being awakened, now or in the future. I'll be exhausted after destroying the Horcrux so I'll have to return to Hogwarts once I've had a few days to rest."
"Why would you be exhausted?"
"Casting and controlling fiendfyre is draining. Not only I have not done so for months, but, it takes a lot of physical strength to control it and a large amount of magic is needed to cast it, so it'll drain my core and leave me magically exhausted. That's why there's so few people that can cast it. You build up a resistance to casting fiendfyre until it barely affects you anymore, but that takes years, decades even. Seeing as I only started when I was eighteen, I haven't been doing it long enough to have no ill effects."
"Okay, diadem first, then what?" Sirius asked.
"I was thinking maybe trying with Slytherin's locket."
"Where is it?"
"12 Grimmauld Place," she answered. Sirius' body tensed and James' eyes widened.
"Why would there be a piece of a murdering psychopath's soul in my childhood home?" He fumed.
"It's not what you think, they weren't given it to protect it. I haven't told you something yet, but I've been meaning to. It's about your brother."
"Regulus? He was Death Eater, he died during a raid, it was his own fault."
"No, Sirius, your brother died a hero. He died stealing the Slytherin locket," she said softly.
"What?" He whispered.
"Regulus didn't want to be a Death Eater and after two years he learned about the Horcruxes when Voldemort borrowed Kreacher and he used him to hide the locket so his Horcrux would be safe. When Kreacher returned he was dying. Regulus was furious at the mistreatment of him and he healed Kreacher and ordered him to take him to the Horcrux. He was able to get past the security and protective measures and he stole the locket, leaving behind a replica and a note for Voldemort. He gave the real locket to Kreacher and Regulus drank some of the water surrounding the cave and that was his downfall. The Inferi took him and that's why a body was never found. You brother died defying Voldemort... He died a good man and a hero."
Sirius stared at her before standing to is feet. "I need a drink," he muttered, walking out of the room.
"Never saw that one coming," James spoke, breaking the silence.
Hermione sighed and dropped her head back against the back of the couch. "I know, I didn't either at first. The note was signed R.A.B. I knew I'd seen the initials somewhere before but I couldn't remember where and it wasn't until we were hiding in Grimmauld at the beginning of our mission when I came across it. We spent two summers at Grimmauld during school, Harry and Ron shared a room on the third floor that used to belong to Regulus, his initials were on the door and that's when I discovered who had the locket. The only thing was, that after Sirius and Dumbledore's deaths, The Order relocated and Mundungus broke into Grimmauld and stole a lot of possessions, the locket is one of them. He sold it to Umbridge which was why we had to break into the Ministry and steal it back. Sirius and I are going to have to go to Grimmauld to get it."
"He swore he would never go back there and his mother would never let him through the door. She disowned him."
"It doesn't matter," Hermione said. "I've been reading over the wizarding laws of this timeline and although Walburga may have blasted Sirius off the family tree and she may have disowned him, in the eyes of the law and Gringotts, Sirius is the Heir of the Black House." He stared at her in surprise. "Walburga has no claim to the fortune, to the properties or any items that are inside them as she married into the family, she wasn't born into it. It all belongs to Sirius; he is Sirius Black, no matter what she says. When she disowned Sirius, Regulus was made the sole living male heir, but when he died, Sirius was automatically reinstated. He owns Grimmauld Place and his mother can't stop him from entering, also, Kreacher has to abide by his orders."
James stared at her before he laughed loudly in disbelief. "He would never be the Head of the House of Black."
"Hmm, I suppose, but he would have the opportunity to turn it into something good. To turn it into a name that people wouldn't respect out of fear, but out of honour and integrity. They would be noble not because of its fortune and ancestry, but for its values and morals. Sirius could do that and he'd pass that legacy to his children." James snorted. "What's so funny?" She frowned. "Sirius would be a wonderful father; you've seen the way he is with Harry and the Weasley children. Of course, he would have to find the right woman that could handle him and keep him grounded, from what I remember he's a bit of a womanizer, although I've never seen him with a woman since I arrived, one-night stand or not. I haven't actually seen him spare a second glance towards a woman either," she mused thoughtfully. "Anyway, now that he'll never suffer all those years in Azkaban, it's possible it could happen. He could have a family, a wife and a child. I just want him to be happy, he deserves it," she sighed. "I just want you all to be happy." She confessed, tipping her head until it pressed against James' shoulder. "I know what Remus' future holds; I know he'll marry Tonks and have Teddy, but I don't know about Sirius or you and that worries me."
"We'll get by just fine, especially if we have you. You don't need to worry," James promised, moving his arm to curl around her shoulders.
'Prewett twins, two: Marauders, six' he thought proudly. His attention was pulled by the footsteps of Sirius entering the room with a smug smile on his face and James knew that he'd heard everything. Even if his hearing was a little better due to his Animagus form, Sirius had always had a penchant for being a nosy sod.
"So, my little brother's actually a hero and he died sticking it to Snake-face. Couldn't be any prouder," Sirius spoke, Hermione smiling at him softly. "So Grimmauld?" Hermione nodded. "I'm really the Head of the House of Black?"
"Yes, you are, imagine the look on your mother's face when she finds out."
Sirius grinned. "That's reason enough alone to go back to the House of Horrors, never mind to get a piece of a nut-job's soul," he responded and they laughed at him.
"I've been thinking, Hufflepuff's Cup is in Bellatrix Lestrange's vault."
"Which we have no way of accessing unless you break in again," he commented with a twitch to his lips.
She shivered. "Never again," she promised and they chuckled at her. "But, we don't have to break in, we walk in."
"But we still won't have access," James pointed out.
"We won't, but Sirius will."
"You've lost me," Sirius' brow furrowed in confusion.
"Bellatrix was a Black, when she married her vault changed names but the contents itself stayed the same, as well as the vault number and location. And as the Head of the House of Black, you have the right to access any vault that belongs to the Blacks, which her vault does. The goblins will want to know why we want access, so we tell them that we believe Bellatrix is in possession of a family heirloom that doesn't belong to her. We simply walk in and walk back out."
"That's genius," they both whispered and she grinned.
"Mia Granger, brightest witch of her age," she pointed to herself and they snorted at her.
"So we have access to three of the Horcruxes. What about the diary and ring?" James asked.
"The diary is at Malfoy Manor."
Sirius groaned and flopped back into the couch dramatically.
"He doesn't make it easy, does he? What is it with my demented family?" He sighed.
"I still haven't figured out how to go about getting it. And the ring is in Little Hangleton, I'm not sure where though, but I'll find it."
"There's one more you still haven't told us about," James mentioned.
"Do you trust..."
"Yes," they both replied before she'd even finished her sentence and it made her smile.
"Trust me when I say you don't need to know what it is yet, I'm handling it." They nodded and the subject was dropped.
"So, it seems little Bill has taken a liking to you," Sirius said with a smirk. Hermione threw a pillow at him, it hit in the face and he scowled.
"You're lucky it wasn't the business end of my wand," she warned, he gulped and James laughed.
"When will you learn, Padfoot? You shouldn't get on the wrong side of our Mia."
They both noticed her lack of objection at being referred to as theirs, and they were unable to stop themselves from feeling at the action.
'Prewett Twins, two: Marauders, seven.'