Disclaimer: All characters and things associated with Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling and Warner Brothers. This writing is for pure entertainment only.

Summary: Set in the distant future, happily ever after would not last, and Hermione is no longer safe in a dangerous world. Will her children find a way to save her before everything in their world is destroyed?

CHAPTER 43

After a few long moments, Hermione's tears seemed to stop and Ron couldn't help but be relieved. They had been standing in the kitchen for what seemed like forever as she clung to him and cried. He didn't even think it was possible for a human to cry as much as that.

Hermione wiped her face and pulled away from her boyfriend; still ashamed she had slapped him in the face. He had not deserved that.

"Better?" Ron asked, lifting her chin so she was forced to look at him.

Hermione nodded, her hands falling on the roundness of her pregnant stomach. "A bit…"

"Good…" Ron gave the most genuine smile he could given the circumstances.

"But we need to go after Rose, Ron…" Hermione told him.

Ron sighed, letting go of Hermione so that he could scrub his chin with his hand. That was a dangerous request, though it was one he was certain he would hear. "Hermione, we can't…"

"That wasn't a request, Ron." Hermione stepped back so she could look him in the eye, her pregnant stomach balancing between the two of them.

"Hermione, you can't fight…that's the whole reason Rose went alone…" Ron reasoned, gently pushing a stray piece of hair behind Hermione's ear.

"I know that I can't be in the thick of things, but I can help…even if its from the sideline…and Rose can't do this alone…we have been letting her run this show for months and where has it gotten us?" Hermione folded her arms across her five month, pregnant bulge.

"She's doing the best she can, Hermione…" Ron told her, trying his best to sound calm, though he wasn't exactly okay with Hermione attacking Rose's efforts. As far as he was concerned, Rose was doing the best she could.

"I didn't say she wasn't, Ron…but let's be honest, she is under a lot of pressure and doesn't exactly have a lot of experience in what she is doing…she needs our help and we need to keep her safe…" Hermione reasoned.

Ron sighed; he knew Hermione had a serious point. Rose did not exactly have the most experience in what she was dealing with, and a lot of what she had done was just dumb luck. He didn't want to think about it, but he knew Rose's luck was running thin. He didn't know how long that would last for her.

"Ron…you know we need to go after her…we need to help her…" Hermione pushed.

Ron sighed again, running his hand over his face. "What about the baby?"

Hermione put a protective hand over her stomach. "I will keep the baby safe. Trust me, Ron…I know what I am doing, but we need to think about all of our kids…this one…and our futures ones. Rose needs us…"

Ron sighed again and glanced away from Hermione, out the window. The sun was shining, the bird chirping, and Ron realized that he wanted a future with his children in that sun. he wanted to take this baby growing inside of Hermione out into that sunlight. He wanted to teach Rose Quidditch in that sunlight while Hermione held Hugo in her arms. He wanted his future, and he knew the only way to guarantee that was to follow what Hermione was saying. They needed to go to Hogwarts and they needed to help Rose.

"Alright…we just need to be safe about this…" Ron said.

Hermione nodded, and pulled Ron in for a hug, holding him a moment longer then necessary and he realized, for the first time in his life, that Hermione was truly scared, petrified even, and he had never seen her like this. Even when Bellatrix had tortured her last year, Hermione had a resolve about her, but now, she shook slightly in his arms, and he wondered if it was because of the added pressure of al of their children's lives on the table right now. He could certainly feel the pressure.


Rose and Scorpius finally pulled apart after a long moment, though with the same look of shock on their faces as the hall seemed to fall silent despite the fighting outside in the courtyard.

In the middle of the kiss, Rose realized as Scorpius lowered her to her feet, Hugo, Albus, James, Lily, and Ginny had all come out into the hall to join Harry, and all of them were staring at the pair now.

Rose quickly cleared her throat, blushing a bit and avoiding eye contact with Scorpius. She was trying her best to wrap her mind around why she had just kissed him. She had been so overwhelmed, so happy to be alive, and so happy to see him unharmed that it seemed like the only thing to do at the time, but now it seemed awkward. Whether she loved him or not, they couldn't possibly be together.

"Are you two…done?" Albus was the first to speak up, poitnign between Scorpius and Rose.

"Shut up…" Rose rolled her eyes and moved past Scorpius, quickly gathering Hugo in a hug before moving on to Albus, Lily, and even James.

"Good to see you're alive…" Hugo grinned at his older sister. He was realized to see that she looked in moderately good shape now. The last time he had seen her, she had been so frail, her bones sticking out everywhere. She still looked thin to him, but had put back on enough weight to look relatively healthy.

"You too…" Rose smiled and then pulled her brother back in for another hug.

"What are you doing here?" Scorpius asked, his hands now in his pockets as he tried to act like the kiss had not even happened.

"I was listening on the radio…figured you all came up here…" Rose said.

"Where are your parents?" Harry spoke up.

"At Grimmauld Place…I came here…to destroy the horcruxes…" Rose held up the bag she had which contained the horcruxes.

"Are they all in there?" Harry pointed to the bag.

Rose shook her head. "I destroyed one of them…but I don't think I could handle destroying another…"

"Why?" James scoffed.

Rose ignored James and glanced at her Uncle Harry. After a long moment, Harry gave a nod, understanding Rose's silence and the look on her face. She did not need to say it out loud for him to understand. She had seen a horcrux like Harry had watched attack Ron; Harry knew those could be difficult, he had watched Ron suffer from his own.

"But the rest are in there…" Harry finally asked.

"No. I left some with my parents. In case…well…in case I didn't make it here…" Rose explained.

"Are mom and dad okay?" Hugo spoke up, softly.

Rose nodded quickly. "They are both fine…more then fine really…they wanted to come but mom…"

"Its better you left them at Grimmauld Place…" Ginny spoke up. She knew Hermione well enough to know that if Hermione had come to Hogwarts she would want to stand on the front line with the rest of them and that would be too dangerous. Ginny was even starting to believe that none of them belonged there; that it was too dangerous for anyone anymore.

Rose nodded, tossing the horcrux bag to Hugo. "We need to get destroying those…"

"Is that the plan then?" Albus asked.

Rose glanced at her cousin then her uncle. "I mean…that's my plan…I figured I could do that while you guys handle yourselves around here. Haven't you been doing okay?"

"We've had better…" Lily spoke up with a tight smile.

Rose's brow furrowed in frustration. She had assumed once she had made it to Hogwarts that her uncle would have a better plan then what they appeared to have.

"Well, maybe that means we should focus on the horcruxes…" Scorpius said, his hands still in his pockets as he avoided all eye contact with Rose. "If the horcruxes start being destroyed…well going after the baby Mrs. Weasley is having won't matter as much to anyone…"

Rose nodded in agreement. "That's why I brought them…we need to start getting rid of them."

"And what happens when we do that?" Hugo spoke up.

"What do you mean?" Rose was confused by her brother's question.

"I mean what happens? Mom's not with us…they are after her…we have no idea if she is really safe or not and if we start stabbing horcruxes, someone is going to get pissed…" Hugo explained.

Rose's brow furrowed in frustration. This little detail had not even crossed her mind, but surely it would be well known the horcruxes would be destroyed and that would only lead to a more rigorous hunt for her mother and the child her mother was carrying.

"We can't worry about that right now. We need to destroy as many of the horcruxes as we possibly can right now and then focus on making sure your mother is okay…" Harry spoke up, knowing there was nothing they could do about Hermione right now anyway. No one could get to her and Ron to help them, and so Ron would have to make sure Hermione and their unborn baby survived, at least until they were somehow all brought back together.

"Harry…" Ginny scolded at his calloused views. She did not like to see him basically turning his back on Hermione and Ron's safety. It was so uncharacteristic of him.

"No, he's right. We need to focus on the horcruxes. It's the only place we can really start right now." Rose said, thrusting the bag of horcruxes at Harry.

Harry caught the bag with ease and gave a slight nod at his niece, glad that someone agreed with his plan for the moment.


Hermione busied herself in the bedroom she and Ron had been using at Grimmauld Place, quickly packing their belongings in two separate bags as the radio blasted in her ear. She was listening for something, anything that would signal that Rose was all right, though she was not sure what she could expect.

As Hermione continued to pack, Ron cautiously entered the room, carrying th small bag of horcruxes Rose had left with them. He placed them on the bed and watched Hermione's pregnant form visably shiver.

"Thought we should put them somewhere safe…" Ron said simply.

Hermione gave a small nod at her boyfriend and was about to say something when the radio cut her off.

"…and Rose Weasley was spotted today moving toward Hogwarts…Miss Weasley was attacked but seemed to have escaped into the school. The Ministry will be doing a full investigation and assure the public they are not in danger at this particular moment. The reward for Miss Weasley's capture has now doubled…" The radio announced.

Hermione and Ron stared at each other, their mouths both slightly hanging open at the news they had just heard. Rose had made it; she was safe at Hogwarts.

"She made it…" Hermione smiled a bit, unable to hide her relief.

Ron smiled back; glad to know their child from the future was safe. Now he could focus on their child that would be there in a few months, the one Hermione was carrying.

"Now, we just need to get there…" Ron said, and then his smile faded, her brow furrowing.

"Ron, what is it?' Hermione asked.

Ron shook his head. "If they saw Rose they know she is alone…which means they know you and I are alone…unprotected…they are going to come for us now."

"Well, then we need to get moving." Hermione focused back on her packing, not wanting to make Ron feel dumb, though she had already thought of that and knew now, especially since Rose was safe, she and Ron and their unborn child were in more danger then ever.

"And then what? Where can we go that we aren't going to risk being seen? Even getting into Hogwarts is going to be a job now…" Ron was feeling defeated, trying his best to come up with a plan, though it seemed worthless.

"We have to figure it out. We have to get up there." Hermione said.

Ron nodded, wracking his brain for a moment longer. He still had no plan.

A light bulb seemed to go off in Hermione's head as Ron thought and he knew she had an idea, her brown eyes becoming the size of saucers. "Aberforth."

"What?" Ron screwed up his face. What did Dumbledore's brother have to do with anything?

"He helped us get into Hogwarts last time." Hermione reminded Ron, throwing clothing in her bag more quickly now.

"Yeah, but there is no way we can get to him now. We would be spotted in an instant, assuming that path is even still there…" Ron said.

"We disapparate there." Hermione told him.

"You can't do that." Ron motioned to her pregnant belly, reminding her.

"I can in emergencies. This is one." Hermione said, wrapping a hand around her protruding stomach.

"Hermione…" Ron shook his head. He wasn't sure if he actually agreed with that.

"Ron, its not an argument…and I am not asking permission." Hermione said, placing the last of their belongings in the bag before extending her hand to Ron.

Ron sighed, knowing there was no use arguing with Hermione. He grabbed the bag of horcruxes and took his pregnant girlfriends hand, allowing her to disapparate them to the Hogsheade Inn.

Once they arrived, Hermione wobbled away from Ron, trying to steady herself. She realized now more then ever why disapparating while pregnant was frowned upon. She quickly reached out for the counter to steady herself.

"Hermione, are you okay?" Ron moved toward his girlfriend.

"Fine." Hermione gave a weak smile, trying her best to dismiss the wave of nausea.

"Hello?" Aberforth's familiar voice bellowed from the kitchen.

"Aberforth? It's us! Hermione and Ron!" Hermione called out, feeling a bit better.

Aberforth entered the bar area, clearly surprised to see the pair standing in front of him.

"You people just keep coming back, don't you? Well…good to see you two are alright…" Aberforth nodded, moving to grab himself a drink.

"Sir? What do you mean that we keep coming back?" Hermione went into question mode instantly.

"Well, the lot of you was already here…" Aberforth explained. "Needed help finding you two…"

Hermione and Ron exchanged a confused look.

Aberforth sighed. "Hugo came by looking for you…or wanted help finding you…with the Potter's…"

"They were here?" Hermione couldn't help but smile. That meant that she and Ron were on the right path.

Aberforth nodded, pointing to Hermione's protruding stomach. "While ago…that boy of yours…he's a good kid…congratulations by the way…"

Hermione blushed and ran a hand over her belly. "Thank you."

"You say they were here…where did they go?" Ron asked.

"Hogwarts…" Aberforth said.

"We knew that much…" Ron mumbled.

"What Ron means is that we need to get there as well." Hermione explained.

"Is that really the best place for you to be going? There is a war there…" Aberforth again eyed Hermione's stomach.

Ron nodded. 'That's what I've been saying…"

Hermione glared at her boyfriend causing Ron to duck his head before turning back to Aberforth. "I am aware and will be fine. We need to get there; both of our children are there now."

"So I've heard…" Aberforth motioned to the stack of newspapers by the door.

Ron cocked his eyebrow and silently wondered to himself if Aberforth was intoxicated. The older man was making very little sense. "Err…right…so can you help us get up there?"

Aberforth again glanced at Hermione's stomach and gave a reluctant nod. "The passage you used last year…in the basement…it still works."

"Brilliant." Hermione seemed satisfied.

"I would really caution you against this…given your state…" Aberforth said.

Ron bit the inside of his lip to hide his own reaction. He couldn't agree more with Aberforth, but he knew Hermione would have none of it.

"Well, thank you for your concern, sir, but I will be just fine." Hermione told Aberforth.

Aberforth gave a final nod, glancing over at Ron who simply shrugged, before gesturing the young couple down the stairs and into his basement.


Rose stood in the corner of the Room of Requirements with Scorpius at her side, though the pair was silent as Rose observed hwo the room had transformed into almost a tent, for all those who had come to fight, or who had stayed at the school. Everyone in there looked tired, dirty, and hungry, though their spirits had lifted a bit and Rose couldn't help but feel a little responsible for that, which only made her feel guilty. She had no plan.

"What are we going to do?" Scorpius finally asked.

Rose sighed and shrugged. "Dunno."

A loud blast shook the walls of the room.

"What is that?" Rose asked.

"Fighting…outside. This is a war…" Scorpius chuckled to himself, noticing Rose was not making direct eye contact with him and he assumed that was because of the kiss they had shared earlier. Scorpius wanted to talk about it, but was cut off by Harry who had moved up to the pair.

"We need to get a group outside…just to blast a few of them back…the people fighting out there need relief and something to eat…" Harry said to Scorpius.

"What? You have lines of people fighting?" Rose raised an eyebrow.

"We go in cycles. Mostly because we aren't trying to fight so much as keep them out of the castle. Gives some of us a break." Harry explained.

"Alright, so lets go fight." Rose reached for her wand.

"You're not coming." Albus' spoke up as he and James moved toward Rose, Scorpius, and Harry.

"What? Fuck yes I am." Rose said.

"You just got here, you are tired. You aren't going to be any help and we need someone to focus on the horcruxes." James said, seemingly happy to put Rose in her place.

Rose's eyes darted at her uncle's at the mention of the horcruxes and Harry knew she had no desire to be the one to destroy them.

"Well…we don't need to focus on the horcruxes right now…but you should eat something, Rose." Harry told his niece from the future.

"I wanna fight. I'm not gonna sit still in here and you know it." Rose glanced at Albus.

Albus shot Scorpius a look, though Scorpius only shrugged.

"She's got a point. She is just going to drive us crazy if we don't let her help." Scorpius said.

"See." Rose smiled, seeming satisfied.

"Fine. Let's go then…" Harry spoke up. He didn't care if Rose helped or not; extra hands could certainly not hurt them.

Harry led the group into the hall, near the entrance to the school, where another group of Hogwarts students was fighting.

"Switch!" Harry bellowed.

The other group of students ducked at Harry's command, sprinting toward them and avoiding curses.

"Alright…careful…" Harry instructed as he ducked and led the group to the safety of the door, where they would shoot spells out around and out the windows when needed.

Rose, Albus, James, Harry, and Scorpius all made it to the protection of the door in one piece, though it had not been easy with the amount of curses that had been sent their way.

"Looks like there are more of them…" James commented, glancing out the window.

"And they are getting closer…" Albus added.

"Just hold steady and fight…we've got a long few hours ahead of us…" Harry commanded.

And Harry wasn't lying about that in the slightest. The small group defended the castle for hours on end and Rose was growing tired, hungry, and a little sloppy with her spells. At the beginning, she had been excited to fight. She had not used her wand in what felt like ages aside from the brief run into the castle, but as the hours wore on, all she wanted to do was sleep. She felt like she had not done so in ages.

"Rose? Are you alright?" Scorpius nudged Rose and Rose realized she had been nodding off.

"Oh…yeah…I'm alright…just tired…" Rose shrugged the sleep out of her and raised her wand again.

"Alright…" Scorpius nodded as another blast came between them.

"Shit…" Rose ducked out of the way before launching up and blasting another spell, taking down two death eaters.

"Nice, Rosie!" Albus shouted from the other end of the door.

Rose turned to grin at her cousin, but the second she turned her head, she was hit by a spell, tossing her ten feet back and into the far wall.

"Rose!" Scorpius immediately panicked, sprinting toward her.

Rose let out a groan of pain, causing Harry to also move toward his niece.

By the time Scorpius and Harry arrived, the damage was already apparent; part of Rose's shoulder was completely missing, a huge hole there that blood was gushing out of.

"Rose!" Scorpius fell to his niece to gather her.

"I told her not to fight!" James roared.

"We need to get her back to the Room of Requirements." Harry ignored James and told Scorpius.

Scorpius nodded, gathering Rose in his arms as she let out another gasp of pain.