Chapter 29
December 1979
It had been almost a year since she had seen him last. A year since their night together, before he had told her that he had to leave. A year since he left her pregnant with a child, and alone to go through the pregnancy.
And their daughter was four months old, having never once met her father since she came into the world. And Hermione Jean was growing up so fast, she was afraid Remus would miss it.
She hadn't told anyone about the birth of her daughter, other than a few close friends, let alone the fact that she was pregnant. Dumbledore thought she simply needed some time to deal with the grief of losing Remus for whatever mission he was on, and for that she was grateful.
She knew telling Dumbledore could have helped bring Remus home, but despite that, she knew that he would come home empty handed. He had left her for a mission which he had deemed important enough to leave her for.
And how could she fault him for that? How could she fault him when he fought for so long to feel like he had a purpose, not just in this war, but all his life? Whatever he was doing, it was something he believed in and had fought hard for. How could she fault him for that?
It had been a year since she had seen Remus, but in all that time, her love for him hadn't faded.
Which was how she found herself currently sitting in on an Order meeting.
It wasn't that she wanted to go out and fight, but she was tired of feeling useless. She couldn't just run from the wizarding world out of fear. It was her home, where she had grown up, and where her heart lay. She still believed that she had made the right decision when she and her family had moved to the muggle world, but she couldn't turn her back so easily on the world that needed her.
But despite everything, she wasn't reckless. Going on missions which could leave her daughter alone was hardly a way to solve any problems. Instead, she knew as well as anyone that she would have to go about things a less risky manner. She could use her skills to heal the injured and help Lily brew potions.
Her friends had been concerned about her presence at the meeting, knowing she was throwing herself back into the fray of things. No one mentioned Remus once during the meeting, nor spoke of a traitor amongst their midst, though seeing their reaction to her presence, it was clear that quite a few of them still believed in his guilt.
Simply because he wasn't here. She wasn't sure how it made sense. How could they believe he was the traitor when he hadn't come to a single meeting to pass along information? He hadn't come to anything for the last year, yet they believed so easily that he was capable of turning on his friends.
Marlene made a point not to look at Sirius during the entirety of the meeting, still furious with him and his accusations. Yet she sat here anyway, and made a point to disregard him and his opinions. And if he noticed, or even cared, he didn't say anything in response.
"How are you holding up?" Peter asked her softly as the meeting came to a close. She knew the others were slowly starting to pile out of the room.
"I'm managing," she said with a smile. She hadn't talked to the man in recent months, but Peter had always been kind to her. So who was she to brush off a friend?
"He'll be back soon," Peter told her confidently. "Whatever it is Remus is doing, he'll be back soon and you'll get to see him again."
"I know," Marlene said, thankful for his words of comfort, "How are you doing, Peter? With everything since the end of school?"
"Things are going well," the rounded man smiled at her, "The shop is giving me regular hours, and I've been and hopefully I'll be promoted to manager within a few years."
"That's great, Peter!" Marlene said with a bright smile on her face.
"Yeah," Peter smiled shyly. "Don't be a stranger, Marlene."
And with that he walked away, leaving her alone. She hadn't given the man much thought in recent months, and a part of her felt guilty over it. He had always been nice to her, and yet she had forgotten about him, and chosen to worry over her own problems.
She would try harder, that much was sure. Even with everything going on in her life, she would try harder to be there for her friends, as they had been for her.
When Hermione came to, one of the first things she noticed was that she wasn't in her bed. She blinked awake, as she recognized the familiar walls of the hospital around her. After the war, she had spent many hours in the halls of the hospital, visiting those who had been hurt or injured, hoping to keep them company while they recovered.
"You're awake," she heard her father let out a breath of relief.
"Dad?" she asked curiously as she sat up in the bed, "What happened?"
She remembered the events just before she had lost her consciousness, what with Theo attacking her as he turned out to be the heir of Mordred.
"Theo knocked you out with an old spell," her father said flatly, "He wasn't trying to injure you too severely, which means he wanted you for something, and that he still wants you for something. If it weren't for Bill and Draco showing up when they did, Merlin knows what would have happened."
"What happened to Theo?" she asked, as she felt her heart drop slightly when she realized Draco wasn't in the room with her.
"The Aurors have taken him into custody for assault. Harry made sure to personally arrest him for what he did to you," Remus said, sounding furious.
"Good," she said, softly, and her father kissed her forehead.
"I'm glad you're okay, Hermione," he told her softly. "I was worried, when you weren't waking up. We all were."
"We?" she asked, wondering just who else had come to visit her while she had been unconscious.
"Draco was here too," Her father said, sounding surprised he had to tell her, "He was a mess, Hermione, so I sent him to the cafeteria to get us some tea. He should be back soon though. He'll be happy to know that you're awake and doing relatively fine."
She nodded, as she looked up in time to see Draco walking into the room, lighting up at the sight of her sitting up.
"I'll give you two some time," Her father said, as he excused himself from the room, leaving her and Draco alone.
"You're okay," Draco said, sounding relieved as he placed the cups of tea down on a table. "I'm so glad you're okay."
He walked over to her, and sat down beside her in the bed. She took his hand in her own, stroking it softly as she smiled up at him.
"I'm sorry," she said softly, "For worrying you. Merlin knows what you've had to go through with me lying here, alone. I should have been with you."
He looked at her, incredulous. "How can you be apologising now for what he did? He hurt you, and you're busy caring about how I am?"
"Because I love you," she said softly, "And while I've been lying in this bed, you've been hurting. So I want to be there for you so you're not alone."
He cupped her face softly, as he placed a kiss on her lips. She leaned into him as he held her when the pulled apart.
"Are you okay?" she asked again, looking up at him.
"How can you ask me that," his voice broke softly, "One of my best friends hurt the woman I love, my mate, because as it turns out, he was never really my friend in the first place. Because if he was, he wouldn't have done this to you."
"It'll be okay," she said, soothingly, "I promise, it'll be okay."
He stiffened against her.
"You can't possibly know that," he said, voice rising, "You've never had a friend betray you and hurt those you love. Your friends are faithful to you, and wouldn't dream of hurting you for even a second. So how can you say that you understand, Hermione? None of them would hurt me, unless I did something to deserve it. None of them would use you selfishly. So don't tell me that it will be okay, because it won't be."
Draco stood up, pulling away from her, and she felt his absence immediately.
"Where are you going?" she asked, worriedly, as he looked at her.
"I need some time alone," he told her, hardly, "I'm glad you're okay, Hermione."
And with that, he walked out of the room, taking the broken pieces of her heart with him.
Morgana stood on the edge of the field, watching as Arthur's men charged at her. She could see her brother riding beside them, as Merlin stood proudly at his side, wielding his staff.
In a past life, she would have been so proud to see the two of them standing strong beside each other. To see them, fighting side by side, using magic alongside the muggles.
Except her brother, and lover, were coming straight for her, to vanquish her and the curse.
As if they stood a chance.
Mordred had gathered up a troop of soldiers; of warlocks and druids, still holding grudges, and of men who simply didn't believe in Arthur. Of those who had lost someone who had been unfairly executed in the name of possessing witchcraft, or of those who had lost someone when witchcraft could have saved them.
It was safe to say Arthur still had quite a number of enemies.
"Morgana," She heard Merlin's voice boom across the field, "End this now. Stop the curse before it takes any more lives, and we can all go home. You can come home. You've made your point. You've achieved what you've set out to do. Come home, and we can be a family together. We can be safe.
She thought of her child, safely in hiding with only a few knowing of their location. And that was exactly the way she intended it on being. Because even if she didn't make it out of this, her child would survive, unscathed.
"It is too late," Morgana said to Merlin, her voice breaking, "I cannot come home if Arthur is still there. Not after what he's done. After the people he's hurt. Magic is convenient for him now, because it's helping him defeat me. What about after when it becomes inconvenient again? Will he seek my head once more? What if magic causes a death, will there be another ban? No one has banned swords when they seek blood on purpose, yet magic is outlawed due to the bad it could do while overlooking all the positives. I cannot live under that man's rule once more."
"So be it," Arthur's voice echoed back. "I'm sorry it came to this, Sister. I'm sorry we had to fight on opposite sides of the field."
Morgana closed her eyes, and Mordred gave the order for their men to charge forward, and attack Arthur's.
She watched, as on either side of her, people were dying. They were getting cut down, be it by magic or swords, on her side and on his. And it was devastating. She only hoped that it would end soon, with her on the throne, and her brother relinquishing his claim to the throne.
"Morgana," she heard Merlin's voice cry out, as he fought off soldiers on either side of him, trying to make his way to her.
She raised her hand up to put up a barrier, knocking out opposing men, and preventing Merlin from getting too close.
"Break the curse," Merlin begged her. "Don't you see, you've done it! You've united us all together, even when it seemed impossible. Just break the curse, and come home. Arthur would forgive you. He would understand."
She laughed at that, "He wouldn't. He would demand my head for what I've done. Even if you overlook the fact that I cast a curse designed to knock out a good amount of the population, I challenged his claim to the throne. How could he forgive someone when there was always the possibility in the back of his mind that I could try and do so once again? He won't forgive me for what I've done. To break the curse, you have to stop me."
"Stop this," he demanded, stepping forward as he tried to break through his barrier.
"You can't enter," she said, shaking her head at her love. "My magic has grown stronger, Merlin. My magic has grown far stronger since I left you. I've heard stories about you, you know. The great Wizard who fights alongside Arthur. The elders whisper about your greatness, and your power. Of what you will achieve. But it doesn't make you stronger than me. Because at the end of the day, you still love me, and you cannot hurt me."
"Be that as it may, I cannot allow you to hurt others," Merlin said, looking tired. "I love you with my entire heart and soul, but I cannot allow you to hurt others for any longer. Challenge the throne all you want, but break the curse and let the innocents survive. This war is between you and Arthur. Leave the rest of them out of it."
She looked around, and saw the war continue to wage on, and she sighed, dropping the barrier to allow Merlin in close.
He immediately ran to her, looking conflicted, and she wasn't sure if he wanted to kill her or kiss her. She wanted to reach out and touch his face. She had missed him so much, and it was killing her to see them on opposite sides of the field.
They hadn't been on opposite sides of anything since their first meeting, when he was practicing swords work, and she challenged him. And her victory had given him a sense of awe and as he told her later, had caused him to fall for her.
"Merlin," she said softly her heart breaking, as she wanted to reach out and hold him tightly. She wanted nothing more than to go back to the days before all of this when their biggest worry was whether her brother would agree to their marriage.
Not that such a thing could ever happen anymore.
And at that very moment, she felt an arrow pierce her heart from behind.
As she fell to the ground, she could hear Merlin let out a scream, as Arthur stood over her. Merlin scooped her into his arms, as he held her tightly.
"It's in my blood," she said softly, realizing that her time was coming to an end, "The curse is in my blood."
"It didn't need to be your destiny to cast this," Merlin said angrily, as he tried to cast a healing spell over her. "It didn't need to be like this."
"It's ironic isn't it," Morgana laughed out, as she could see the world spin, "I wanted nothing more for magic to thrive alongside muggles, to unite them both. But at the end of the day, being the villain was enough to unite them. I did it, Merlin. I brought them together."
"You did," he said in a thick voice. "You did, Morgana. This isn't the end for you yet. You need to survive this. You need to come home."
She let out a half sob, knowing it wasn't true. The arrow her brother used had been poisoned, and no amount of magic could stop it from killing her.
She reached up to cup his face, "I need to tell you something, My Love. When I fled, I was with child. I was with our child. We have a son together, and he's beautiful. Find him, and show him love and kindness."
He looked shocked at that, "A son? What is his name, Morgana?" he gasped out, but she could see the world around her begin to fade around her.
She closed her eyes, trying to find the strength to form the words, as the world around her began to darken. She could hear her love screaming, as she faded from the world of the living.
Theo laughed. If the Aurors thought Azkaban could hold him, he was solely mistaken. He transformed into a dark crow, and easily fit through the bars that held him, flying freely through the wind, as he escaped the prison.
He knew the news of his break out would reach the mainland soon, so he needed to be quick in how he acted, and escalate his plans up.
He knew the chances of Hermione joining him would have been slim. But now she knew he was the heir of Mordred, would she make the connections about what it meant for herself in time to break the curse?
He couldn't have that happening, not when he was so close to achieving greatness. Not when he stood on the verge of finally accomplishing what his ancestors had fought for millennia to achieve. And he would take the world if it was the last thing he did.
He arrived at Morgana's castle, and got to work. He needed to be ready for when they came, and to have everything ready to go.
If they were terrified of the curse before, they would be horrified now, when the progressed sped up. And with the population of the world falling, it wouldn't be long before they gave in and proclaimed him as their rightful ruler.
Soon everything would be his, and there would be nothing anyone could do to stop him from succeeding.
