IN HOSPITAL WING
Hermione couldn't stop crying. Ron hadn't woken up even with the blood transfusion, Madam Pomfrey said he had gone on for too long without enough blood. Across the row laid Harry. He had a pulse and was breathing, but it wasn't Harry. It was just his body. The Dementors had given him and Sirius the Kiss. Sirius laid on the bed next to Harry and next to him in an induced sleep was Peter Pettigrew in chains. Their bodies were found by Lynn and Snape who were now screaming at each other, but Hermione couldn't hear them. The bang of the door opening brought her back. It was Dumbledore.
"What in the name of Merlin is—" he stopped when he saw the bodies, "no…impossible!"
Snape had extinguished all of his energy and fell into a chair while Lynn ran up to the Headmaster.
"Dumbledore I—"
"You promised me!" he shouted, "You gave me your word, your life!"
He stared menacingly at Lynn. Hermione had never seen the Headmaster like this, it was frightening. Even Snape cowered by the window. She stood and spoke unsteadily, "Headmaster it wasn't her fault. The Dementors—"
"Damn the Dementors," he yelled at Lynn, "I was a damned fool to trust you. You let Black out of Azkaban which made him lead the Dementors right to Harry. Now they're both soulless, Remus has been sent to Azkaban, I have a student in a coma and another whose been traumatized! How many lifetimes will it take for you to learn?"
The room was unbearably grave.
"Headmaster," Angie stood in the doorway as if summoned out of thin air. Dumbledore turned from Lynn, who looked surprised, even angry, to see Angie. Dumbledore walked over and whispered something into Angie's ear then left. Angie remained stone-faced as Lynn stormed passed her then dutifully followed behind.
They all had left her. The spoke like she wasn't even there. Hermione felt forgotten, like it didn't matter what happened to her. Which gave her the strength to move. She followed Lynn and Angie, finding them in an alcove off of a corridor. She hid herself behind a pillar and listened.
"But why can't you do it?" Angie asked.
"He doesn't trust me anymore," Lynn said harshly, "Tell him what he whispered to you and he will know it's you. This is your time now."
"But—"
"No it's up to you. You must save Harry. Protect him. Go to 19-30, I'll meet you in time."
Hermione held her breath as Lynn ran down the corridor, then remembered to breath. Save Harry? She slowly made her way out from the pillar and into the alcove where Angie stood facing the window. She was combing through her hair and pulling it back into a high ponytail, quietly repeating, "I am not like her. I am not her," like a chant.
"What are you going to do?"
Angie spun around in fright and made an indiscernible combination of 'what, huh, nothing'.
"How will you save Harry?" her voice was stronger.
"I—I don't know what you—"
"Take me with you," she demanded.
Angie's eyes widened, "No I can't. I mean—you won't understand."
"Please!"
"No I can't—I can't do that to you."
"I don't care what happens to me! Harry is gone and Ron…" Remus's words ached her wrung heart, "Please whatever you're planning, take me with you. I can't loose them. I can't be alone."
Angie stared at Hermione, internally debating until she sighed, "Hate myself." She yanked out her necklace, grabbed Hermione's hand and wrapped it around a small black pendant then retrieved her wand. Hermione had seen she wear it all year every day, never seeing her without it. The long chain had numerous black pendants on it linked to a larger red pendant with a smaller pink pendant dangling beneath it.
"Tempus nunc," then when Hermione removed her hand, the pendent had turned green. Hermione, out of habit, wanted to ask what was happening, but she didn't care anymore. Angie extented the necklace around them both and took Hermiones' hand, "Tribus horis retro," then time reversed itself.
When the world stopped turning they stood alone in the hospital wing. Angie stuffed the necklace back into her shirt but Hermione noticed that the pink pendent was now linked to a smaller pale rose colored pendent and green pendent had sprouted a smaller pale green colored pendent.
"What just…"
But Angie was staring up at the clock, "7:30, where were you at 7:30? With Harry?"
"Yeah…we were going down to Hagrids."
"Come on!" she set out in a jog, "Be quiet and we can't be seen."
They ran through the corridors, stopping only once so they could hide from a student running towards them. She was crying and even though Angie told her to look away, Hermione peeked at the girl. She was from Slytherin with long dark brown hair braided down the back. She looked familiar, too familiar, but Angie pulled Hermione back into a run.
They finally made it to the bridge and rock hedges where they hid behind the stone steps. And at the rock hedges were Ron, Harry, and Hermione.
"This is impossible…" Hermione tried to stand to get a better look but Angie pulled her back down out of sight.
"Hermione listen," she lifted the necklace by the large red pendant, "This is a Time Turner, it's Lynn's and it's very very dark magic. We can't let anyone see or know about this. Harry is down there alive and we're going to make sure he stays that way." They sat quietly as Malfoy and his posse ran away while the trio ran down to Hagrids, "Come on." They ran around the hut and hid behind the pumpkins.
"What're you guys doing?" Angie asked.
Hermione thought back to those moments she remembered, the ones happened now, "Buckbeaks about to be executed. We're talking to Hagrid. We had to sneak out when the Minister came right after us," she pointed up the hill, "There's the Minister and…that's strange—"
"What, what is it?" she asked urgently.
"Your aunt wasn't with them before." Hermione remembered it was just the Minister, Dumbledore, and the executioner. But Lynn was now walking down with them.
"Lynn's soul is bounded to the Time-Turner so she travels with it whenever it goes," her eyes lite up, "Buckbeak…this is when we change the future."
"What?"
Angie quieted her and pulled her back into the forest as the original trio ran out through the back. When the execution group had filed into the hut and the trio was running up the hill, Angie bowed to Buckbead while Hermione coaxed him with ferrets. Hermione had remembered that the meeting between the Minister and Hagrid didn't last long in the hut, but now Lynn was creating excuses to keep the group in the hut. To keep them preoccupied while she and Angie lead Buckbeak out into the forest.
"Where do you guys go next?"
"Uhh…the Whomping Willow to the Shrieking Shack." With Buckbeak in tow they made their way to the edge of the forest with the Whomping Willow in sight.
"What happens in there?" Angie slipped off her jacket and tied it around Buckbeaks neck.
Hermione scraped through her memories, "Umm…Black's innocent, Professor Lupin is a werewolf, Snape comes and tries to break the potion, but Lynn…gets it somehow…and Ron's rat was the guy who betrayed Harry's parents…"
Angie nodded thoughtfully as if it made sense to her, "Hopefully Lynn being gone won't change too much."
"Where'd she go?"
She was hesitant at first, then sighed and sat down, "Getting Remus's emergency potion. Snape only gives him a regular dosage so he'd still turn. But that'll break…the emergency potion will be quicker to stop the change."
Hermione was beginning to shake, she was so unprepared for this, she needed to know, "How is this happening?"
Angie stared off in the distance, her gaze heavy, "Lynn grew up in a time where Voldemort was in power."
"Yeah, but that like fourteen years ago."
"No…about…around this time actually" Angie didn't wait for the confused questions, but instead grabbed a stick and began to draw lines in dirt.
"She grew up in a time where Voldemort heard of a prophecy that a boy would grow up to defeat him. So one night he went out and murdered the boys described in the prophecy. Their families too. He killed Harry Potter." She let that sink in for a moment before continuing, "Lynn was sixteen at the time and was pure-blood but her sister, Eliza, was a squib. Once Voldemort rose to power, Eliza and most of the Muggle-borns were killed. The humans were…powerless. Lynn's gifted in Divination and manipulation in time so she created a Time-Turner. She went back in time to that night, the night in the prophecy, and changed something. But it wasn't enough. Voldemort was still out there, but she didn't know when he'd come back and she was getting old. So she went further back in time to when she was a baby and stole it. Then jumped forward in time so the baby was the same age as Harry, so it can go to school with him. Told everyone that the kid was her squib sister's to not attract too much attention."
Hermione lifted her eyes from the drawn time lines in the dirt and stared in bewilderment at this hollowed eyed girl whom she had never met before.
"Our given name is Evangeline. Originally Lynn, she raised Angie and now…Evey maybe…"
"There's three of you?" Hermione whispered.
"In this time, yes," she said flatly.
Hermione was horrified, pointing towards the Whomping Willow, which was now stunned, "But…so there's me and another me? How—"
"Combined Consciousness Curse," Evey sounded drained of energy, "You will take the conscious out of her, combine it with yours, and the body is forfeit."
Hermione stood appalled, "That's just like a Dementors kiss!"
"That's why it's called a curse."
"This is wrong, so bloody wrong. How messed up are you! Or whoever you are! Messing with time is illegal! It's—"
"A Dark Art, I know," Evey shrugged helplessly, "But the world was a dark place when Lynn lived in it. She was able to change her past and now we must change our future," she looked up at Hermione, "I didn't want to bring you."
"Thanks for the warning!"
Evey narrowed her eyes, "You saw them didn't you? Harry, Sirius? They were breathing but it wasn't them. They were dead! The soul or conscious, that's what makes us alive. Believe me, I hate this too! But we're saving Harry, Sirius, and Remus and if that means that I have to make a moral sacrifice to do that then I will and you should to!"
Hermione grew quiet and sat down besides Evey.
In the Shrieking Shack, Snape disarmed Black.
"Vengeance is sweet. How I hoped I'd be the one to catch you. I've been keeping an eye on your movements Remus and it's finally paid off. I told Dumbledore you were helping an old friend into the castle and here's my proof."
"Brilliant, Snape. As usual you put your kin mind to the task and as usual you come up with the wrong conclusion. Now if you don't mind, Remus and I have some unfinished business to attend to."
Snape turned his wand onto Remus, "Yes…I'd say your business is finished Black, but Remus your mauling is just about to begin. It seems like I had forgotten to add a crucial ingredient to the potion I gave you this morning."
A look of absolute horror then hatred grew onto Remus's face. And almost like a wolf, he growled, "Severus you—"
Snape pulled a small smoking vial from his cloak, "I have a dosage here. So you if don't want to kill us all, stand down!"
"You pitiful bastard," Black sneered, "It's one thing to seek revenge but to damn Remus to—"
Snape jabbed his wand into Blacks neck, "I could do it you know, I have every reason to."
"Why don't you go along and play with your chemistry set."
"I won't let you get away. You're trying to finish what you started twelve years ago. But I won't let you. I'll kill you myself before I'll let that happen." Snape looked over at the kids in the corner and jerked his head towards the door.
But Harry raised him wand, "Expelliarmus," then turned to Black, "Tell me about Pettigrew."
SAME REVEAL OF PETER
"Then how'd you find out his innocence? How'd you escape?" Hermione asked.
Each of the men glanced at each other before Remus answered, "We had help, but right now I think its our Mr. Weasley here in need of some help."
And Ron was, he was drifting, losing balance just trying to sit up. Remus was able to stop Ron's bleeding before they left the shack. Emerging out of the tunnel they found that the Whomping Willow was stunned. Remus guarded Pettigrew as Sirius helped Ron onto a tree root to rest. Black and Harry were about to step aside to have a heart to heart, but the moonlight shone behind the clouds and Remus felt an agonizing splitting within his body. That moment of realization seemed to last long drawn out seconds. Then out of nowhere Lynn appeared besides Remus, pouring a vial of smoking potion down his throat as Sirius tried to calm him. Pettigrew took this chance to retrieve Remus's dropped wand and transform into a rat and escaped. Sirius and the werewolf ran off fighting as Lynn came across Snape and Harry ran after Sirius.
"We have to help Harry!" Evey took off in a run in the direction Harry was heading.
Harry ran down the incline. He found Sirius back in human form at the shore of a lake, his body was as torn as his ragged prison clothes. Harry didn't know any healing spells so he tried to get Sirius to sit up. But his skin prickled in the instantly cold air and the edges of lake cracked into ice. Behind, in front, and above him, hundreds of Dementors surrounded them, forebodingly floating towards them. Harry was able to produce his Patronus once but the Dementors were overwhelming. Then Hermione and Evey were by his side. They weren't able to produce Patronus's but they helped ward them off. Hermione was fierce and confident like Harry had never seen before, it was like she was an entirely different person. Then from above them on the hill, a Patronus in the form of a swarm of butterflies attacked the Dementors. There was one butterfly Patronus for each Dementor, repelling the darkness away. When the light returned to a normal full moon glow, they looked behind them to see Lynn was coming down the hill.
