Hello everybody! Sorry it's been so long, I've been putting off writing as I don't want to see this story end! I could be persuaded to carry on if people expressed an interest...let me know ;)

I will see it done

"No! I will not go with you!"

"Don't be so foolish, come with me."
"Get off of me!"

"Stop struggling!"

Hermione Granger woke with a start. The world outside was still cloaked in darkness, the stars few and fading. It seemed to be a world approaching its own end, a world shrouded in doom and quiet. Even the owls outside were silent, not a hoot, not even the flutter of a wing.
Covered in sweat and heart still thudding in her chest she looked to where her daughters slept. Rose was curled up like a cat while Ivy sprawled like a starfish. They both looked so peaceful. Would she ever have that innocence again? Would the peaceful dreams of her childhood ever reappear? Dreams of swimming as a mermaid, running off on adventures? Rubbing her eyes with her palm she tried to make sense of her dream.
There was an oak tree. Once magnificent, its trunk was now gnarled and branches stooped with age. The leaves that had sparkled emerald green were fading and falling to the floor, a sign of summers end.
A couple stood arguing. By the look of their robes they must have been around hundreds of years ago. While he was immaculate in silver, she was in disarray; the blue velvet of her gown was splattered with mud and her hair was tangled and unkempt. She was screaming at him as he tried to drag her away from her sanctuary. Hermione was surprised she even had the strength to fight him. She looked so pale and thin. Nestled in the roots was a small bundle. In the dream she'd picked it up and found a sleeping baby. When the baby opened their eyes it became her baby. The one not yet born. People surrounded her tugging and shrieking. They wanted to take her baby away. They did not wish it well.
Hermione held her hand to her stomach. She was three months gone, not showing yet but she would be soon.
In the morning the camp was to be evacuated. The elderly and those too young or sick to fight would be taken to the portal and sent over to the safe house in France. From there various families had agreed to take people in. A handful of guardians would accompany them, to they settled in and to carry on the negotiations from the outside.
Those who stayed behind to fight would find out the plans that afternoon. Hermione had requested to stay, but it turned out that was her only choice. They would not risk her being out of reach. When she was feeling optimistic she told herself it was because they wanted her to be safe. When she was feeling pessimistic she told herself it was so she could be used as a bargaining chip. She dreaded them telling her she could not fight.
If Voldemort won she would be returned to him, that ending was simple. Her life after his loss would be more complicated.
She would hide, try and lie low for as long as she could. When they found her again with three children she would say the baby was a product of a one night stand. Out of embarrassment she had hidden away, worried what people would think. The baby was premature but thriving now. She even had a cover story.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Seamus

He kissed her. The way she smiled at him and too much firewhisky from the wedding made him do it. She'd pulled away in shock, her eyes as wide as sauces. But as he stumbled out an apology she kissed him back fiercely with far more passion than he expected. When she began to unbutton his jacket he laughed and caught her hands.
'Woah there! You sure?'

She blushed. 'I'm sorry. If you don't want to-'

'Oh I want to.' He cupped her face in his hand. 'But I'm not so drunk I can't check in with you.'
He felt her cheeks grow warmer still. "I want to know what it's like to enjoy this." She whispered. "If I can enjoy this."
"Am I the right guy?" Sober Seamus batted away drunk Seamus. "I'm sorry to be blunt and I'm very flattered, but you always struck me as the kind of girl who'd want to wait for love."
"I was that girl once." She smiled sadly. "But the woman I am now doesn't have those options." She held onto his jacket to pull herself in. They were inches apart. He wanted to kiss her again. When they were at school together she'd just been bookish Hermione who had a strange relationship with the rules. He'd enjoyed teasing her so he could see her blush. It was a welcome difference from the other girls in his year who liked to pretend they were more experienced than he was.
"You're my friend." Her voice was gentle. "I may not get a chance like this again. Tomorrow I could be taken. I'm not asking you to love me. But you already respect me and for now that is enough."
He kissed her gently, thrilled when she responded. "I started to get a bit of a crush on you in sixth year." He confessed, the firewhisky blurting it out before he realised. "I never got round to telling you."
She kissed him.
Luckily he wasn't so drunk he forgot to ask about protection.
"All the girls at the camp take a potion." She said.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It wasn't a lie. None of what she said was lie. Hermione had wanted to know what it could really feel like. She wanted to know the pleasure of it with someone who would put her needs first, who would stop if she got scared. He was gentle, sweet. He didn't rush. He kissed her on the forehead. He'd shown her passion she didn't think was possible for her. There was no lying. She just omitted some of the facts. And those facts were missing to protect her unborn child. She had no desire to trick Seamus, but it was a necessary evil. Hermione hadn't planned it. He kissed her and she went along with it, thanking the stars for her luck. It also helped that she knew he'd tell people about what they'd done. If he died in battle there would be others who could confirm her story.
If he died? What was she turning into? Had life really made her so cold? The girl she once was admonished her for it. She felt flat. Devoid of anything. When had that happened?
Just another thing he had taken from her.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

For what felt like the thousandth time she hugged her daughters close.
It was dawn. The little family stood on the outskirts of the camp saying goodbye as the sun slowly began to wake; its beams gently caressing the scene whilst reminding them their time together was short. The camp still slept but soon it would wake again for the new day with birdsong and by then her girls must be gone.
"Be good." Hermione pressed upon them again. "It's important. You must listen."
Rose's eyes were filling with tears but her little face was determined. "You can count on me, Mummy. I promise."
Ivy put her pudgy hand in Hermione's. Her wide eyes confused. "Mummy come too?" She said solemnly. "Ivy, Rose, Mummy?"
Hermione blinked back tears. She had known this day would be hard, but no amount of mental preparation could ease the blow. What was better? To be like Rose, old enough to understand what was happening but fearful because of it? Or Ivy, young and confused but without the same nightmares? Hermione stroked Ivy's frown with her thumb. She tried to make her voice sound light. "Ivy and Rose go with Luna today. Mummy come another day. This is a very special adventure. I need you to be brave."
Behind her, Luna squeezed her shoulder, her face kind. "I promise they will be safe with me."
It had been an easy decision to choose Luna as her daughter's guardians. The girls already knew her and Luna was not bound by the desire to keep by the rules as others were. She trusted Luna's judgement to do what was right, even if it conflicted with what the authority was saying.
"You have the Secret Keepers?"
"Yourself and Dean. I've chosen two others as well. But I won't name them…" She tailed off awkwardly.
Hermione nodded in understanding. Incase I'm in a position where I could give away secrets.
"Luna and Dean are going to look after you." Hermione repeated brightly to the girls. "Until Mummy can come for you. And she will. As soon as I can."
Rose took her other hand. "Please come with us?" She whispered, her face white with fear.
How could she be struck by her youth and maturity all at once? She was her little girl but so much bigger now. Time had flown by. When she was born Hermione was barely an adult. Now time was hurtling them forwards.

Hermione gently stroked her hair. "My darling, you are a big girl so I can tell you this and you will understand. We are safer apart for now. Until the fighting is done."
"What if he comes?" Tears threatened to fall.
The question hit her in the chest like a curse. The vile man she'd hated for as long as she'd been in the magical world was the father of her children. It twisted at her heart. Things were not supposed to be like this.
Hermione exchanged a quick look with Luna before offering her daughter a brave smile. "We have plans for if he does. We have plans to prevent that from happening."
Seeing them both still look so worried, she pulled them in for another embrace. "We are doing everything we can to keep you safe. But," Hermione hesitated, "if he does come, know that he will not hurt you. If he comes for you, so will I. I promise."
It was true. If word ever got to her Lord Voldemort had her girls in his keeping she would set down her wand and walk into the castle of her own free will. These were her daughters. She would lay down her life for them.

They felt so warm against her. She wanted to hold them close to her forever.
"Hermione." Luna said gently, breaking the spell. "We need to leave now. We need all the time we can get."
Hermione steadied herself and kissed the girls goodbye. She tried not to think of it being the last time. She would get them soon enough.
"Smile for me?" She tried to smile for them back. Rose managed a shaky one while Ivy gave a crazy grin, still too young to understand what was going on.
Luna took each of the girl's hands. Hermione fought the urge to grasp on too.
"Rose, I know I told you not to use magic, but if you absolutely have to then you can. Ivy, listen to your sister. Keep each other safe. I love you."
She continued to say that even after they'd disapparated, as if the wind could hear and whisper it all the way to their new hiding spot. She pictured their faces, trying to remember every tiny little detail. The flecks of gold in Rose's eyes. The way Ivy's hair curled around her cheeks. The shape of their mouths. How tall they were. How they smiled and said I love you.
Hermione wished she had a pensieve to keep her memories locked up tight. She could only pray she would see them again soon.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kingsley sighed and held his head in his hands. He'd not slept. When had he last slept? Fully slept, an undisturbed peaceful night? It was when Albus Dumbledore was alive.
How typical of the man to die without sharing his plans with any of them. Dumbledore had never been one for confiding but some indication of what to do once he was dead would have been nice. Kingsley had mourned his death as premature, when he discovered it had been planned it was a bitter blow.

The Order had not been the same since, there was no clear leader left amongst them. Mad Eye had filled that role for a few months before he too was killed. Lupin was a man made for the role of a valuable advisor rather than leader, the same for Arthur. Many died over the next few months. More died in the Battle of Hogwarts. Some slid away and hid and could no longer be reached. They'd turned to him and given him the job.

He'd never asked for it. Never given any indication this is what he'd wanted to do. Yes he was ambitious and enjoyed being a leader, but this was on another level.

Flammel had left him with secrets too. Secrets he could confide in no one. But now as the new battle dawned Kingsley knew he could not leave Hermione as Dumbledore had left him. She had to know the truth. It could help her to know where she came from.

She entered the tent with the over confidence of someone who was afraid. He knew why. Hermione had deliberately disobeyed him and seen to it that her girls were hidden away from both sides. It was understandable. He'd predicted it and couldn't find it within himself to be angry. Any mother would do the same. Just as his mother had sent him away when he was a child.

'Hermione.' He tried to raise a smile. 'Please, take a seat.'

He watched her breathe a sigh of relief; clearly she thought he did not know what she had done. Yet she did not sit comfortably as others did. Then again, he'd not seen her properly comfortable since she was a girl. Not that he'd paid her much attention in those days. Now the girl was replaced by a woman. A woman who still betrayed her nerves by biting her lip. He continued to watch her, wondering if he could see something in her features. Of course not, this was hundreds of years ago. Still…

When Kingsley moved from his usual place behind the desk to sit beside her, she looked at him quizzically, surprised by this intimacy.

'What do you know of your ancestors?'

'Almost nothing' Hermione breathed, excitement shone through her eyes. 'They would tell me nothing. He accidentally told me my blood was more powerful than his. I've wondered things but everywhere has been a dead end. Narcissa Malfoy told me I had healing powers like Rowena Ravenclaw, but the Ravenclaw line ended hundreds of years ago.'

She was rambling. Kingsley held up a finger to silence her, the rubies in his ring twinkling in the reflection of the flames in the fireplace. Many who entered his tent complained he kept the place far too hot. He tended to ignore them. 'Rowena Ravenclaw had healing powers, correct. But hers were learned rather than gifted. There is another from whom you are descended who gave you those powers.'

He could see Hermione was eager to push him for more. She was on the edge of her seat, nails digging into the fabric, biting her lip as if to stop herself from blurting out a thousand questions. He knew she was afraid to ask in case he sent her away as so many had done before. But he would not be like Dumbledore and send her out into the world in the dark. Where to start?

'Centuries ago when the Wizard King died, the magical community descended into chaos.'

'We had a Wizard King?'

He was baffled. What do they teach kids these days? 'Yes. When Merlin died-'

'Merlin was real?' She blurted out, gobsmacked. Her eyes were as wide as saucers. 'I always thought he was a myth.'

He felt his eyebrows almost disappear into his hat. 'No, no. He was as real as you or I. He was the first wizard to properly cultivate the skill of magic and so was raised to be King. But while he had many female descendants, when he died there was no clear male heir to take the throne. A council was formed that included your ancestors. Ancestors who were themselves descendants of Merlin.'

Her mouth was open in shock. It was understandable. The girl had grown up believing she was a muggleborn. She'd been teased for dirty blood when she was one of the few left who had the purest. He watched as all of that dawned on her face. A mixture of emotions. Confusion, ecstasy, grief. He pressed a scrap of parchment into her shaking hands and watched as she unfurled her family tree.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The familiar names jumped out at her and hit her in the chest. She'd not expected the news to hurt. She'd not expected the news to make her feel quite so alone.

"This can't be possible." Hermione held it out to Kingsley.

He didn't look at all surprised by her reaction. As he sat beside her he looked almost sympathetic. She'd often thought of him too high as a leader to be all that approachable, but his kind brown eyes invited a sense of confidence like a priest who would hear your confession.

"Why do you believe that?" He asked gently.

Hermione swallowed. "It has to be a joke."

"It's no joke. You have been tested already. We could test you again."

She frowned. "When was I tested?"

"When you were born the sword reappeared. It was a race to track you down before the Death Eaters did but the Order succeeded. The Potters cast protection spells over you, but the enchantment collapsed when they died. Luckily Voldemort had never shared his findings with anyone, the Death Eaters did not see why he was interested in a muggleborn girl and left you alone. When Dumbledore came to your parent's home to tell them you were a witch, he left with a strand of your hair which confirmed you were who he thought. He told the Order you needed to be protected, but only a few knew the truth."

Hermione could feel her heart racing. She even felt sick. "My parents are magical?"

"No." Kingsley shifted in his seat. "They are still muggles. There has not been magical blood in your family for hundreds of years. Hermione, have you ever looked into your family tree before? On your mother's side?"

She shook her head.

"Your mother was an only child. Your grandmother was an only child. Your great grandmother was an only child and so on and so forth. That is no accident. It is part of the powerful charm put on your family."

"Why do I have magic then?" She could feel the room start to spin. "Why me after hundreds of years? Why did it go away in the first place?"

"The prophecy Voldemort refers to is the one that states that when all of Merlin's blood joins together there will be incredible power once more. Your ancestor Richard," he tapped the name on the family tree, "knew that his only grandchild was the one half of the prophecy. He also knew that Salazar Slytherin was aware of this and would do whatever it took to get his hands on her. Now Salazar was far too gifted a wizard to be tricked by a Secret Keeper. So Richard hid his granddaughter far away and suppressed her magic for as many generations as he could manage. He hoped that either his line or Slytherin's would die out before the magic would be revealed again. But Salazar fed the tale to his descendants and it travelled down his line as legend. Voldemort paid no heed to it until he heard the sword reappeared on the night of your birth."

"He suppressed her magic?" She breathed. "I didn't even know that was possible."

"For a powerful wizard like him it was. But the spell weakened him. And the destruction of his family even more so. He didn't last much longer. I know when you saw your tree you must have thought your ancestors saw your line as a shameful secret. But it was only a secret because the child was so loved."

Hermione traced the names on the page again. They almost breathed. The ache in her chest was replaced by a deep warmth. This was her family. Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. She was descended from them all.

"How did it come to be?" She asked in wonder. "How did it start? Where did it go wrong?"

A story of how things came to be is in the works! So stay tuned! I'll be writing the next chapter soon. While I had always intended to leave a cliffhanger, I'm curious to see which side you readers would like to win?

xx