1989
Chapter 10
Disclaimer - JK owns HP. Always.
The days seemed to run together now that Hermione had settled into a routine. Now that she had gotten used to living a life in the past she realized that her unique situation could be very beneficial to the future. Dumbledore had been right in suggesting that she use this time wisely. She alone knew not only the day of the the final battle, but also the exact location. She could use this time to plot and set traps for the fateful night to come. There was no way she was going to let this opportunity go to waste, so for the next eight months it was her goal to figure out how to get Nagini. She needed to figure out not only how they were going to get close enough to her, but also how to defeat her without getting bit themselves before Voldemort could get to Harry.
It wasn't just the final battle that she was going to benefit from either. Since she was expecting to be here for almost the whole year anyway, she might as well get the best grades possible. If she had high enough scores, than maybe the ministry would let her count this as her seventh year. It's not like there wouldn't be record of her being here at the ministry anyway, the report Mr. Harper had taken should be proof enough. And If they did accept this year as her last she'd be allowed to take the N.E.W.T.S with the rest of her classmates once the war was won.
Graduation bells and a defeated dark lord were still not the only things that had her spirits up. Things between her and Charlie hadn't seemed to change after her rejection of his attempted kiss. The day after her birthday she had gone down to the great hall for breakfast, scared that he would go back to avoiding her. Thankfully this was not the case, as he had acted as if nothing had almost happened between them. He had continued to be the charming and rather flirty friend that she desperately needed here in this time.
Though there were many things keeping her spirits up, there was still one thing that seemed to weigh heavily on Hermione's mind. She had been thinking a lot about their almost-kiss. Most days she would catch herself wishing she had kissed Charlie that night, or at least wondering how the night would have ended if she hadn't moved away. She wondered if they'd be dating by now, or if she'd have at least told him the truth about her. Other days she ended up wondering if it would have matched up to the kiss she shared with Ron. But no matter where her mind ended up taking her; she'd always remind herself how much of a bad idea it was to get any closer to him.
It didn't matter that she liked him as much as he seemed to like her. Not when the truth was that she was leaving in seven months. Once the unspeakables sent her forward to her own time Jean would be absent from his life for eight years. It wasn't fair to let him get attached to her. Not when she was already set to leave him soon.
So in the end she decided to stay as friendly as possible to Charlie while she was here. She just wouldn't let it get past friendship. She just wouldn't.
At least that's what she kept trying to tell herself.
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It was another hot and humid day, which was a rarity for Scotland this early in October. Being stuck out in the greenhouses for herbology didn't seem to help the seventh year's stay cool either as they re-potted some month old wiggentrees that Professor Sprout had just acquired before the start of term.
Hermione wiped some sweat from her forehead as she helped her Slytherin partner Mason Flint, the older brother of Marcus she assumed, lift a particularly wide trunked one into its new home. The heat had caused her to resort to using a pencil as a replacement for a hair-tie. She'd stuck it through a messy bun that now sat atop her head as to keep her hair from sticking to the back of her neck. Wearing long sleeves had also been a bad idea with weather as hot as it was outside, but she hadn't seen any other option since she needed to keep her scar covered.
"Nice job Walters." Mason said to her as they filled fresh soil in around the roots. "You're not as useless as I expected."
"Um, Thanks?" She replied as she tried to ignore him.
Being partnered with Mason had not been pleasant, though not quite as bad as she'd expected. He had been civil enough as far as the rivalry that was ever present between Slytherin and Gryffindor would allow, but that still left much to be desired. At least her alias as a half blood had deterred him from calling her a Mudblood.
"I see that almost everyone has repotted their wiggentrees." Professor Sprout spoke up above the chatter among students. "Now can anyone tell me the importance of these soon to be monstrous trees?"
Hermione had to stop herself from shooting her hand in the air out of habit. One of the Ravenclaw's was called on to answer instead.
"The leaves are used in lots of healing potions." The blonde girl answered.
"Correct." confirmed Professor Sprout. "But what else?"
It was Charlie's turn to answer this time. "Once matured they are guarded by Bowtruckles. They tend to flock to them because anyone who touches the trunks of these trees will be protected from dark creatures as long as they are touching it."
"Good answer." She agreed. "Five points to Ravenclaw, and another five to Gryffindor. Now let's finish up. It's too hot to be out here much longer and it almost time for dinner."
As Mason stepped to the side to re-hydrate, Hermione took the chance to look over at Charlie. He had been partnered with Devon, as usual, and they seemed to be struggling to get their rather lopsided sapling to stand up straight. Everytime they thought they had it, it would lean to one side as they added the dirt around the base.
After watching their repeated failure, she laughed as she finally approached the clearly frustrated pair, whose tree had just completely toppled over onto its side. Devon quickly picked it back up before Professor Sprout could see the small damage they had done to the side of the rare protective tree trunk.
"Ya goin to laugh Walters, or are ya goin to help?" Devon said as he struggled to hold the sapling upright.
"What does it look like?" She mocked him as she bent down to pick up the shards of wood that had splintered off during the fall.
"Oh thank Godric we finally have someone competent over here." Charlie grinned teasingly at his best friend.
"Oh to hell with botha ya." Devon cursed.
"Hold it steady now." Hermione ordered as she slipped the wood shards under the uneven base as a shim. As class was almost over, they had obviously needed a third party to show them what the problem was. "That should keep it from tipping over again once we get the dirt in place at least."
Charlie grabbed the nearest sack of soil and began filling the pot with it, starting around the roots. "Thanks Jean, you're a lifesaver."
"More like a gradesaver, but I'll take it." She grinned as she subconsciously rolled up the sleeves of her robes to help him. Half of the class, including Mason, had already left; as they had completed their task for the day.
She scooped some more soil out of the bag with her bare hands as Devon continued to hold the tree up. Her and Charlie took turns scooping and packing the dirt around the base of the tree until it seemed to be secured in place.
"Finally!" Devon breathed a sigh of relief as he was actually able to let go of it without it toppling over again. He stepped back to look at it for a moment before going to find some water and wash his hands.
Hermione laughed at him again as she continued to smooth the dirt around in the pot.
When she finally turned to face Charlie again, her good mood instantly vanished. He had frozen in place with his hands still in the dirt. His eyes were locked onto the exposed flesh of her inner forearm.
"What the hell is that?" He asked in horror.
She looked down to see that she had unintentionally exposed her arms up to her elbows, giving him a clear view of her very offensive scar. She had only had it a few weeks now, and there had been so much going on after leaving Shell Cottage that she still did not always remember it was there. The memory of how she got it was still too horrible to think about, so she tended to cover it with long sleeves so neither her nor anyone else could see it.
"Nothing!" She gasped as she quickly pushed her sleeve back down.
Hermione stood with the intention of fleeing, but Charlie was too quick for her. He grabbed her other arm by the elbow to stop her from escaping him.
"That is not fucking nothing." He said almost angrily; though she wasn't sure if it was directed at her or at whoever had carved her arm up like a jack-o-lantern.
Hermione looked around the room thoroughly to make sure no one else was paying attention to them. Luckily anyone who was left was either finishing with their trees or cleaning up. "It doesn't matter."
"Like hell it doesn't!" He exclaimed at a whisper. "How did you get that? And I want some answers this time."
"Not here Charlie." She warned, glancing around again to make sure they were still being ignored. "Please not here."
"Alright." He agreed, still fuming but understanding her need for privacy. "But I'm not letting you out of my sight. Not until you've explained how you ended up with that despicable word carved into your arm."
"Okay." She nodded, knowing she wouldn't be able to evade him after this. "I...fine."
"Directly after class. We can go somewhere where we won't be overheard." He said before passing her angrily to wash his hands at the sink.
Hermione's lip trembled as she attempted to keep herself calm in front of the other students. She couldn't believe she had been so careless as to roll up her sleeves; especially when she was right in the middle of a busy class full of students. She was just lucky it had only been Charlie who had seen it.
She joined him at the sink so she could wash the dirt from her hands as well. She took the faucet right next to his to show him that she wasn't going to try and make a run for it. As much as she knew she shouldn't say too much, she was tired of keeping secrets from him. She'd only been here a month, yet she was already struggling to keep it all in. It didn't seem fair that the weight of the world had fallen on her shoulders alone.
As she continued to scrub her hands clean, Professor Sprout dismissed the rest of them, deeming their trees were well potted enough. Charlie laid his hand gently on her shoulder as she dried her hands on a fresh towel, signaling he wanted her to wait until the rest of the students were gone.
"I'll catch up to you later Devon." He called out to his friend.
Devon smirked at the pair, assuming something much different was about to happen between them before he headed out the door with the rest of the class.
Once they were alone, Charlie grabbed her hand and began to pull her out the door. "I think I know a place not too far from here."
Hermione only nodded silently as she followed along. As soon as they entered back into the castle from the side entrance he pulled her halfway up the empty winding stairwell that lead to the second floor.
Before she could even start to explain herself, he forced her back against the wall gently and pushed her sleeve up so he could take a closer look at the scar. He stared at it for a moment before taking a deep breath.
"I'm sorry I overreacted earlier." He said calmly. "Or not exactly overreacted as I'm not sure there is an over reaction to seeing something as horrible as this. But I'm sorry I seemed so angry with you. It's not your fault obviously. You're not the one who carved such a heinous word into yourself. I'm just really worried about you." He sighed as his thumb rubbed over her marred skin. "And now I'm really scared for you too."
Hermione almost didn't know what to say to that. She knew he liked her and that they seemed to get along well together, but she hadn't realized how much he genuinely cared for her. "It's something I try not to think about."
"I can imagine." Charlie said, still rubbing it up and down with his thumb. "It must have been horribly painful."
"It was." She admitted, now trying not to flashback to the memories of it happening.
"But why would someone do that to you?" He asked. "I thought you were a half blood?"
"That was just part of my cover story." She whispered finally being honest with him. "Dumbledore thought it best to keep my identity hidden. I'm actually muggleborn."
"Oh." He said, before pausing for a moment. He was clearly stumped at what he had just learned about her. "That...that doesn't matter to me. I just..." He rubbed his neck as he searched for the right words. "How did this happen?"
"The boy who broke my wand." She tried to decide how much she wanted to reveal. "It was his aunt. A few weeks before I came here. "
"Well that explains who and when." He said still in shock at what she had been hiding from him. "But why?"
This was it. Not the moment where she would tell him where and when she came from. She didn't want to overload him with all of it at once. But this was the moment where she would finally tell him why she was in so much danger. The moment where he would actually understand that her troubles were not to be taken lightly.
"Because of Voldemort." She said firmly.
Charlie flinched at the name. "Don't. Don't say that!"
Hermione was trying to prove a point. "Why not?"
"Because." He faltered. "Its bad."
"And why is it bad?"
He looked even more confused. "I don't know. It just is."
"I can actually tell you why." She explained. "It's because people are scared that he's still out there somewhere. That he is just biding his time until he can regain his strength. And deep down I think you know that too. That he isn't really as dead as it seems. That's why you flinch everytime you hear his name."
"I don't know how you can possibly know that." He looked skeptical. "But what does that have to do with you getting that scar?"
"Everything. My friends and I discovered not only the reason for his continued survival, no matter how dismal his current existence is, but...also how to take him down for good." She finally started to reveal what she had swore she'd never tell anyone. "There are still witches and wizards out there loyal to him, and those that are didn't take too kindly to us trying to rid the world of him for good. Especially a muggleborn."
"You're serious aren't you?" He asked almost in shock. "The only reason you're here is because you stumbled across something so big and dangerous you had no one to turn to but Dumbledore."
She nodded as she looked down to see his fingers tracing the letters etched into her skin.
"That's insane Jean." He shook his head at her. "Why on earth would you and your friends think three teenagers would be a match for whatever is left of you-know-who's death eaters?"
"Because we were the only ones with the opportunity to do so." She fibbed, trying to avoid steering the conversation to Harry Potter and how she knew him. "And because if he comes back muggleborns like me don't stand a chance."
He let go of her arm and stepped back. "Well I guess I understand why you've been so secretive now."
"I wanted to tell you." She admitted. "But I had already promised Dumbledore that I wouldn't tell anyone and that I would keep a low profile."
"And you just broke that promise for me." He cringed as he brought one hand to his forehead. "And that's why Dumbledore has been helping you so much!"
"I don't regret telling you Charlie." Hermione stepped forward and grabbed both of his hands. He seemed to be the one who needed comfort this time. "I trust you."
"You do?" He seemed to relax ever so slightly at that.
"Yes." She confirmed. "I just need you to promise me that this stays between us now. No one else can ever know."
Charlie nodded as his eyes flickered down to their joined hands. "I promise."
"Thank you." Hermione breathed a sigh of relief as she pressed her face into the middle of his chest.
"It stays between us." He reiterated as he released her hands so that he could wrap his arms around her. "But I still don't fully understand how you ended up with that word on your arm."
Hermione sighed. She'd hoped he wouldn't have pressed farther. "We went into hiding last August, but eventually we got caught. Since I was the muggleborn, the lady in charge chose me."
"Chose you?" Charlie slipped his right hand into the hair at the base of her neck so she'd look at him again. "Chose you for what?"
She stared at him for a moment; hating to admit the truth, but knowing he needed to hear it. "To be the one they tortured."
Hermione could physically feel him stiffen. He had to grit his teeth and look away to keep himself calm. It was clear he was trying to stop the rage that was bubbling beneath the surface from spilling over.
"They did more than just carve that word into your arm didn't they?" He finally asked after he'd calmed down enough to speak.
She nodded. "They started with the cruciatus." This information caused him to growl under his breath. "Over and over again until I thought I would pass out from the pain. But when I still didn't talk, she resorted to carving into my arm with a cursed dagger."
Charlie had to lean his forehead against hers for balance as he took several deep breaths. "I can't believe you had to go through that."
"Sometimes I still can't believe it either."
"It's a miracle you survived." He said astonished. "How did you get away?"
"We were friends with a very loyal house elf." Hermione smiled in remembrance of Dobby. The free-est house elf that ever lived. "My friends were able to disarm everyone in the room and the elf apparated us to safety."
He shook his head back and forth at her. "Do you realize how lucky you are?"
"I do actually." She nodded. "I know I should be dead right now."
"If I ever meet these two friends of yours I'm going to ring their necks for getting you into that kind of trouble." He cursed.
For obvious reasons, this made her laugh.
For obvious reasons, her laughter annoyed him.
"There's nothing to laugh at Jean." He said sounding frustrated.
"Trust me." She said, wrapping her arms around his waist to calm him back down. "There really is."
He slid his arms back around her as he stared down into her eyes. "There's more your not telling me isn't there?"
"There is." She confirmed, not feeling the need to lie to him anymore. "But I don't think you can handle anymore tonight."
He paused in thought for a moment before pushing her head back against his chest. "Alright Jean. I'll leave the rest be for now."
"Thank you." Hermione replied as she closed her eyes; savoring the feeling of his arms around her.
After a conversation that heavy, it seemed they both needed the physical comfort of each others embrace. Neither of them seemed interested in the dinner that was about to be served, or in moving from their secluded spot at all. All alone in the stairwell on the west side of the castle they stayed, as the rest of its inhabitants were making their way to dinner. Unaware that in a few years time there would be worse things to worry about. Unaware that a war was coming. Unaware that it would tear many of their families apart.
As the pair stood in silence, Hermione couldn't help but feel that by telling Charlie a portion of her secret, that at least a little bit of the weight on her shoulders had been lifted.