Chapter Fourteen - "The Tree"
After having talked for a long time, Anne asked if Hermione would sleep alongside her that night, but only if Ginny was all right about it. The brunette confessed of the talk she and Ginny had had and that the redhead would be sleeping off the drugged lemonade tonight, before their journey.
They ate some of the food that had been brought to them, then considered getting into something more comfortable to sleep. Hermione used her wand to freshen up and treated Anne to the experience, which provided an array of facial expressions in a short space of time.
Hermione used her wand to change into her night gear and Anne changed into hers around the corner of the bed, both unsure as to whose benefit that was for. The former kept her eyes on a book she pulled out from her beaded bag, as if to solve that issue.
"Are the names still correct?" asked Anne, as she got into the bed.
"Yeah, I don't even know why I'm checking, as it should all be solved, now."
"Perfectionist; always checks the finite detail until the finite moment."
"Could be," Hermione slapped the book shut. "If it changed now, I almost couldn't care."
"You say that, but I'm certain you would, if it did change. I think I already know that you see things through to the end."
"Perhaps. Hopefully there won't be a need to test that theory."
"At least get under the sheet with me," Anne smiled, and tugged at the sheet that Hermione was sitting on the top of.
Hermione rolled her eyes and got under the sheet. It was a pleasantly warm, summer night, but would cool off later.
Anne was lying on her side looking at Hermione. "I think those couple of inches extra you have on me, are in your legs."
"I haven't thought on it," said Hermione looking down at her self. "I'm not considered tall where I come from, just average."
"Average? So it's normal to be taller for women in your time?"
Hermione rolled on her side to face Anne. "It's not that unusual for women to be over six feet tall. They still stand out, but so do men over six feet tall in an average setting."
"What's the reason?"
"I suppose some of it is a better diet and general health."
"When you first tried to explain things, you said you came from the year 2007?"
"Yes."
"Another millennium," said Anne, deep in thought. "One-hundred-and-seventy-five years in the future."
"It gets a little frightening when you say it like that," said Hermione, with a little throwaway laugh.
"When you leave, you won't just be from here to Bristol, or from here to Scotland, away from me, you'll be all those years away too. You might as well be sitting on the sun."
"That road only leads to brain fog and brain pain if you over-think it."
They talked a little longer, but both felt sleepy, and they settled to sleep, still on their sides facing each other, Anne holding Hermione's hand.
Hermione had entered a dream. There was a deep, fast-flowing river; she was on one bank and Ginny and Anne were on the other bank, calling to her. She kept trying to dip a foot into the water, to attempt crossing it, but the current was too fast. She was wondering why she wasn't using her wand and looked down at her hands. They were red with blood and in looking down she saw the two bits of tree branch that had impaled her in 1943, and she saw the cuts from the day before. Anne and Ginny continued to shout to her, but she couldn't hear either of them properly and had sunk to her knees. What is going on? she thought. She had the feeling that if she didn't get up soon she would die, and then the Massey family would win. She almost wanted to just end the torment. She fell head first into the river and was swept along. She was struggling to breathe, gurgling and her chest and side hurt terribly where the branches had impaled her body. Then she felt solid ground beneath her and both Ginny and Anne were beside her, looking intensely worried. Ginny said "It must never happen again!" And Anne said "You'll make sure it doesn't." Hermione tried to take in a deep breath but the pain was bad. She felt her hand and arm being held firmly...
"Wake up," said a familiar voice. "Come on, come back to me."
Hermione opened her eyes, gasping for breath, her chest aching. She saw Anne and thought it was peculiar and took another astonished gasp. The room was dark except for the low light of a candle that had just been lit.
"You're all right," Anne said to her.
Then Hermione, frantically looked down at herself. "No blood."
"Should there be?" asked a worried Anne.
"No," said Hermione. "I had a bad dream...all those injuries. I felt those bloody bits of tree branch sticking into me again. After nine years? And those cuts from the other day. What the hell was that about?!"
"I'm afraid I have no answers."
Gasping again from pain, Hermione sat up and put her hands to her chest, and saw she wasn't bleeding and wasn't impaled.
"How can I help?" asked a worried Anne.
Hermione shook her head. "No blood, no branches...I think it's just muscles in spasm."
"Breathe slowly and gently and breathe a little deeper each time," said Anne, taking hold of her hand, getting her to lie down again, actually checking her pulse, at the wrist, against her pocket watch. "Do you get nightmares like this often?"
"No, only when time-travelling." Hermione took some calmer breaths. "I haven't had any bad dreams this time, until now, nor Ginny."
"Dreams are strange things. Some say they are a jumble of the things you didn't pay attention to during the day, but were important. Some say they foretell things." Seeing Hermione frown Anne quickly moved on, "I would say a lot of the time it's a tired mind trying to make sense of things."
"Whatever it is I would love not to experience it," Hermione lay her head back into the pillows, closed her eyes, and tried to breathe slower.
After a few minutes, she felt a hand take hold of hers again, and the other open her nightshirt slightly, her eyes shot open and then she felt a hand touch her, a finger following a definite line. She looked at Anne.
"Don't think badly of me, but you had me worried, I'm checking where you were hurt before. I cannot feel or see wounds, and there's definitely nothing piercing your flesh," Anne said, checking one more of the faint line scars. She looked up to Hermione, still looking a little wide-eyed from her bad dream and smiled at her, before moving up and pressing a kiss to her cheek.
"Thank you, for trying to help," Hermione said softly. "I'm not usually this weak or weird."
"You are not weak. You face everything head-on. Even the strongest of us have our moments," Anne smiled.
"It means something," said Hermione, almost to herself. "Ginny said 'It must never happen again' in that dream."
"Oh," Anne said, looking slightly guilty.
Hermione looked to her then squeezed the hand holding hers. "No, it wasn't about that. You said 'You'll make sure it doesn't.'"
"I did?"
"In the dream."
"Are you sure you're not giving too much stock to something in a dream?"
"Not these sorts." Hermione was silent. "I was hurt from both Masseys...so was it the injuries that must not happen again? Or was it the Masseys?"
Anne just watched her bedfellow, fascinated and a little concerned.
"'I'll make sure it doesn't'," Hermione muttered. "Does it mean I never time-travel again? Hardly likely, anyway. I'll never get injured again? Impossible to know. Unless...it wouldn't be...could that even be a thing?"
"Would you like a little brandy? Or something else to settle your nerves?" Anne asked.
"No, I'm fine," Hermione replied, then looked at Anne and laughed. "I know I don't look it, or sound it, but I am. I think you might have given me the answer."
"To what question?"
"My path."
"In life?"
"Possibly," Hermione answered. "The thing that got me injured both times, that made both situations more difficult and unknown, was the actual unknown. This Massey family, in particular, have wizards, and probably witches, that seem to exist beyond the magical world. We don't even know about them. The one in 1943 called himself 'freelance', untrained he meant, because the authorities never knew about him, so he didn't go to school to be trained. I expect they're fairly weak in some ways, but strong in others. What if I were to study that? What if I made it the magical world's business, to find these freelance people. To assess how they even develop their magic and spell-casting with no training. I'm not sure how I would begin the process, but our Minister would certainly listen to me. At least Jane was found by the system, maybe there's a reason for it..."
"Is that Minister the one who leads your government?"
"Yes. I've know him for years. Fought alongside him too."
"Surely it would be in everyone's interests to know how many people like Massey there are?"
"Exactly," Hermione made a face. "I don't want it to be a literal 'witch hunt', that kind of thing would push the bad ones more undercover anyway, but it needs looking at. Hmm...a plan of action...discussions at the very least..."
"You sound like you might have found your next path?" Anne suggested.
"I'm only sorry I woke you in the process."
"If the outcome is as successful as this, then I'm glad I was awake to witness it."
Hermione squeezed Anne's hand. "Thank you for listening to my incessant babble. You are an extraordinary human being." She leaned over and pressed her lips to Anne's cheek, before settling back. "I'll let you catch some more sleep."
"That matters not, if I do or don't. I'll live, either way," Anne paused then said, "Is it the near-death-experiences which gives you these attacks of anxiety? I don't mean the dream, but the times I've seen you before?"
"Yes, I'm fairly certain it is, now," Hermione slowly nodded. "In my time, it was recognized as something called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD for short. It often happens to soldiers or others having seen horrors, or shocking things. Mine was from the stress of what Ginny and I did in 1943, but mostly the fact I nearly died along with all the things that happened during that magical war."
"I see. Is there a prescribed treatment?"
"Many types. For me, I used non-medicinal treatment and it worked fine for seven years until recently, before we came here. Perhaps I sensed something was happening, and it was my body trying to warn me?"
"Can it not be cured?"
"I'm not sure it can, entirely," said Hermione. "I think it's something you learn to live with, and deal with, so it doesn't affect you as seriously. I will be looking at revisiting my coping methods when I get back. You've helped me understand some things too, probably more than I know." Anne smiled back at her.
They spoke a little more about Hermione's idea and gradually they both were sleepy enough to find sleep.
XXXXXXXXXX
Anne was first to wake the next morning. She had rolled onto her back in the night; she checked her pocket watch on her bedside, saw that it was 7.25am. She slowly rolled onto her side and watched a still sleeping Hermione and was mesmerised again, and also at how she had resisted the urge she had had; but there was something so respectful about their friendship, so pure, even after the dalliance they had experienced a couple of days ago, that she didn't regret, nor overly fantasize about it.
Within five minutes, Hermione awoke and initially not knowing where she was, saw Anne looking at her and remembered instantly.
"What's the time?"
"7.30am, now."
"I'd better get back and check on Ginny, and get us ready to go as soon as we can," the brunette said. But she leaned forward and kissed Anne on the cheek. "Thank you for last night."
Hermione got out of bed, found up her clothes from the previous day, did a cleaning spell on the them as well as herself, then flicked her wand to put them back on. "Want the same help?" she asked Anne.
"So, if I lay out the clothes to wear, you can put me in them with a flick of that wand?"
"Yes."
"Try anything once...do I get a clean-up again too?"
Almostly laughing, Hermione flicked a cleaning spell at Anne, who then moved the clothes she wanted to the bed and Hermione flicked her wand again and Anne gasped as she suddenly found herself clothed.
"Ooo, I forgot that this era's clothes can pinch a bit," said Hermione.
Anne put out a calming hand. "I'm perfectly fine...but, yes, it did nip a little."
"I'm going to miss you, Anne." she went and hugged her.
"And I you, both of you."
In trying to deflect the emotional pain that was threatening to push into Anne's mind, she picked up her pocket watch to put in her pocket and by habit opened it.
"I'm going to miss that too," said Hermione, wistfully.
Before turning to leave, she hugged Anne again. "Remember what I told you. You will find someone. Where the good will outweigh the bad. Keep your eyes and heart open. Be brave, so whomsoever it is, can be brave too."
Anne was stood stock still, then shook her head slightly. "I'll give you twenty minutes then come along, to say goodbye to Ginny." Spontaneously she leaned in and gently kissed Hermione on the lips one last time.
When Hermione stepped back again, she nodded, feeling torn in two directions. Her whole heart was Ginny's, but a little bit of it would always have empathy and love for Anne Lister too, in a slightly different way.
When she walked back to the Red Room, Ginny awoke on her closing the door.
"How are you feeling?"
"Better," said Ginny. "No idea what that crap was, but it made me so slow and sleepy."
"I was talking with Anne last night."
"Talking with Anne?"
"Yeah," said Hermione, sounding glum. "She's going to miss us."
"Miss you," said an astute Ginny. "Kiss you goodbye, did she?"
When Hermione didn't answer, Ginny went to her and hugged her. "We talked about this, I'm fine with it. So did you do anything else?"
"No. We did only talk and have a couple of kisses. I didn't want more, and I'm not sure she wanted it either. Not once it's really been thought about."
"Then you slept?"
"Yes. I had a really weird, nasty dream, though." Hermione then told Ginny about her dream and what she thought it meant, as the redhead dressed herself, using her wand and putting shoes on the slow way.
"I think you're onto something with that idea," said Ginny. "I really do. I'll support you, whatever you decide. And if you need to go through your therapy programme again, I'll be there for you."
Hermione hugged her wife and kissed her. "I really don't deserve you sometimes...most of the time."
Ginny pressed her lips to Hermione's. "We could spend ages deciding which one of us doesn't deserve the other most, but we don't have that kind of time. So, I'll just say, I love you."
"I love you, Ginny." Hermione smiled and kissed her wife again. "We'd better get ready. Anne said she'd be along in a few minutes to say goodbye, so I'd better go fetch Jane."
"I'll make sure we haven't left anything behind."
Hermione went down the hall to the Guest Room and knocked on the door before removing the locking charm.
A voice said "Come in."
Hermione was surprised to see her former student dressed and ready, just closing a book.
"Hi, Professor," said Jane.
"We're going to leave in a few minutes, have you got everything?"
"Yeah, all in my little bag."
"Come to the Red Room with me."
They met Anne on the landing and all went into the Red Room, Ginny was sitting on a chair and looking at one of Hermione's books. "Still says Riddle for both."
"Good," said Hermione, then she turned to Jane. "I'm sorry you didn't change what you wanted to, but you must see now that it was dangerous."
"Yeah, I got the memo," said Jane.
"You're bloody lucky that nothing major was changed," said Ginny.
"I'm not sure it can be," said Jane. "Several times I went through things and everything major still ended up how it always was, with perhaps a slight detour, but the same result."
"I'm of the opinion that large things can't be totally changed," said Hermione. "Or, it's the hope I've had. The little details can be changed, but ultimately the bigger themes, or events, can't be."
"If so," said Anne. "Then that Marvelo boy was never likely to die."
"Well, I never want to test the theory to the extreme," said Hermione. "Instinct always makes us act in situations like that...but maybe..."
"Maybe the instinct is because it is a set fate and something steps in to block a deviation, be it someone being in the right or wrong place, or acting on a situation," said Ginny. "That's the only reason I can think of for why I attacked a guy without my wand with a head-on lunge. Because that was bloody stupid of me!"
"Yet brave and courageous," said Anne.
"...and bloody stupid," said Hermione, but she was smiling. Then her face dropped. "We had better get back."
She looked in her beaded bag and pulled out the Time-Turner, checking the diamond was good and likely to be in working order. Then she put her hand into her bag and pulled out Jane's broken Time Turner. She wasn't going to tell her she had other diamonds that might repair it. She wriggled the blackened gem stone and it finally came free, she handed the stone to Anne. "A memento. I can't leave the whole instrument, in case someone works out how to use it."
Anne turned the small blackened diamond over in her hand. "It's like onyx or Whitby jet, only with the facets of a diamond. It's beautiful."
Ginny stepped forward and hugged Anne, surprising the woman, but she hugged her back. "Whatever happens, always be true to yourself. Be you."
"I will," said Anne, thoughtfully.
"Ginny, Jane, hold onto my arms, and don't let go, it will be a rough ride again, I have no doubt," Hermione joined the chain from the other Time-Turner to her one, to make it longer and put it around their necks.
"Goodbye, Anne," Hermione said then, knowing she couldn't trust herself to hold it together if she said more, and wanted to save Anne her own dignity. "3.40pm 19 November 2007, Headmistress's Office, Hogwarts, Movere."
The lady of Shibden Hall stood with her pocket watch in her hand and raised a hand to them, as a sound of rushing wind, then a crack signalled their departure, leaving her looking at the washstand that was behind where they had stood.
"Eight o'clock," she muttered to herself.
Anne Lister walked back to the little room adjoining her bedroom and brought out her current journal, flicking to the right page. The past week she had written a few entries, with not much happening in them; a few fabricated things to amuse herself and highlights from letters sent and received, trying so hard not to as much as hint at what had happened; lying to her own journal. She looked at one mark in the margin she had allowed herself, and smiled at the memory; the 'L' at the very start of the day did not signify a letter this time, it was a new 'lesbian' experience, and only she would know it. At the same time, it had kept her mind off the whole irritating affair with Vere Hobart and her puffed-up little husband-to-be Donald. She had another letter from Lady Gordon, rambling on about how nice it would have been to travel with her, had the stars been aligned. And then the reply to her, with her false niceties about Vere's betrothed.
She sat there twiddling her pen; she had just met an astonishing woman who had an equally amazing wife - yes wife, really - and the loss of them made her feel even more angry over Vere, and Mariana.
That decided it, she would keep to her original plans and go to York. If only to dull the pain she felt on parting from Emma...no, Hermione. But no one must know that name, and she would always keep it close to her chest, and heart.
She looked at the black diamond she had been given, turning it over in her hand, seeing how it caught the light strangely. She would keep it safe, and maybe one day set it into a ring.
First things first, she would go down, have a bite to eat for breakfast, then pack her portmanteau and get on her way to York.
XXXXXXXXXXX
A few seconds past 3.40pm and everyone in the Headmistress's office at Hogwarts looked nervous, flicking a gaze round to each other. Then a whooshing, cracking sound happened and Ginny, Hermione and Jane appeared in the room. Straight away Ron Weasley walked towards Jane with his wand ready.
"Back off!" Hermione nearly growled, then calmed. "I mean...give us a chance to explain it all. She's not going anywhere, I have her wand and her promise...I..."
"It's all right, Professor," said Jane. "Please handcuff me, it would make everyone feel better."
Ron walked forward and attached magical handcuffs to her, then got her to sit down, Ginny and Hermione also taking a chair.
Professor McGonagall sent for some tea and biscuits and then Ginny and Hermione proceeded to recount all that had happened, the reasons, the issues and the outcomes.
Towards the end of their reporting, Hermione brought out one of her books and looked at the landowner names and it had stayed as Riddle. She felt relief at that.
"I know there will be people versed in the law and regulations," said Hermione. " But I propose that we are lenient on Jane, providing she cooperates with us, and something is done about her parents. And although she took a life, she saved the life of a young boy in doing so, and likely saved several adults in that pub too. But, again, I mention that she wants to fully cooperate and testify against her parents."
Kingsley looked at Jane. "And you would do that?"
Jane nodded. "Yes. I didn't know all those deaths would happen. Even though most were meant to die that year, they should not have been murdered to reach that point. Had I known, I would never...or tried to not to do, as my parents asked. I'm not sure they wanted murders, but they must have known it was a possible outcome."
"You're afraid of them," stated McGonagall. "I understand. You're not the first student to be in that situation. Of course, not exactly the same situation, but some parents can be cruel and selfish. If you truly want to help us, we will do everything in our power to help you."
"But, you will still have to answer to the law," said Harry.
"I know," replied Jane. "I accept that."
"So all of the men died that year?" asked Hermione, thinking. "I wondered...never had a chance to go through it all with you."
Jane nodded. "We knew of three, two of which, Thomas and Tobias, were supposedly natural cause; John Massey probably murdered by body snatchers, and the other my mother couldn't seem to trace properly, disappearing from the records, she said. And Thomas Riddle's wife I have no idea about at all. But being in that area at that time of year she was hopeful I could find out where everyone was, to get the will changed. But no one knew about the boy...it was obviously not transcribed online anywhere."
"There is also the issue that the other students were being set up," said Ginny. "None of them were supposed to go to 1832 with Jane, but 1526 instead. It wasn't a complete bluff but a diversion. Sounds to me like getting group pressure to seem bigger than they were, but Jane was only ever going to go alone to her chosen time line."
"It could be said," Hermione began. "That Filius sabotaging the Time-Turners saved lives and a lot of headaches, metaphorically."
"But Jane's Time-Turner still worked?!" said Filius Flitwick, tiredly.
"Maybe it was always going to," said Ginny. "Fate, destiny, perhaps...just a thought." The room was then quiet a few moments.
"We will investigate it all," said Kingsley. "Well, we'll take it from here. For now, Jane, you will have to come with us, but you'll be somewhere safe and then we'll find your parents and bring them in. I will have to confer with the muggle Home Office to see which of us has jurisdiction and how to proceed."
They all stood up to sort themselves out to leave, when Hermione decided to say what she wanted to. "Might I have a private word with you Kingsley, and Minerva?"
Harry and Ron looked at her, intrigued, but she gave nothing away in her expression. They walked with Jane out of the door and to the nearby cupboard, to Disapparate her back to the Ministry, or to a safe house. For the moment, Hermione was glad it was out of her hands.
Flitwick left with an auror, to go and see his family, and with a nod of his head, said. "You know where to find me. I will, of course, cooperate fully as well."
The remaining four people sat down again.
"What is it?" asked Kingsley Shacklebolt.
"I have a proposal...a request...perhaps only a notion," said Hermione.
She told them about her anxiety over 'freelance' wizards and witches and that they posed a threat to everyone. Whether it needed better identifying earlier, as well as a study of some of the spells they cast, Hermione wasn't sure. She even offered herself to give up memories of her duels to aid that part.
"To do that, means I would have to resign my position at Hogwarts," said Hermione. "I don't do that lightly, but I no longer feel I'm giving the input I need to. I'm even questioning my suitability after this. I always want to make a difference and right now, after this event, it feels like a quest I must pursue. However, I would need both of your permission to do so."
Professor McGonagall looked sad. "I hoped I would never hear you say that you wanted to leave here, but I sensed something this year, before all of this happened. You are a fine teacher, one of our best, but you've been worn down. It's not enough for you forever. I always knew that to an extent. I do have one condition on accepting your resignation."
"Of course," said Hermione.
"Other than requiring you to finish the term, if you can, I would like to be able to invite you here from time to time, for talks, or special lessons. There's still so much you can offer to the students, if not actually teaching them from day to day."
Hermione nodded. "I agree. I'd be happy to do that. And I'm happy to stay on till Christmas and fill in a few days if needed the rest of next year."
"I give you permission to follow your line of inquiry," said Kingsley. "In fact I would like to offer you a place back at the Ministry." He saw Hermione grimace and quickly added. "No, not like before, but a position that gives you access to any resources and departments that you need, as and when you need them, but your choice of workplace is entirely yours."
The little tension that Hermione held in her shoulders, dropped. "Thank you. I just feel it is an important area that we know so little about. It has come close to injuring and nearly killing me twice and affected others, including murder, there has to be a way forward."
"I agree, Hermione," said the Minister for Magic. "All I ask is that you keep me informed on your findings and ask for any help, or discuss anything that I might be able to help with."
"I promise to," said Hermione. "I will commit to my teaching, but after Christmas I will start to look into this new project."
Ginny held the Time-Turner, the diamond was still clear and in working order. "What should be do with this?"
"Keep it," said Kingsley.
"Why?" asked Hermione. "You don't think there will be other missions, do you?"
"I can't predict that more than anyone else," Kingsley said in his deep, calming voice. "But we should have a working one at our disposal."
"We have two actually," said Hermione. "But the diamond had blackened, so Jane wouldn't have been able to come back, unless she knew about getting another diamond."
"Keep both, so if we do need action in future, we know we have at least one working instrument, as long as you have spare diamonds, just in case. I can give you some Ministry funds when needed for extra."
"We'll find somewhere to keep them safe," said Ginny.
"I also think if anyone should have guardianship of such a device, it should be the two most qualified users of it," said Kingsley, smiling.
"Okay, we accept," said Hermione, after nodding to Ginny in agreement.
"I have a request now," said Ginny. "Can we go home and sleep for a couple of days?"
Kingsley laughed. "I see no reason why you shouldn't."
"Me neither," said McGonagall. "You might even be fit enough for the match at the weekend for the Harpies."
"I think she needs to sleep off more of that drugged drink she had," said Hermione. "But I wouldn't say no to a couple of days off...if that's okay? I'll be back...say, Thursday."
"Yes, fine. You both deserve some rest."
"A tiny little thing," said Ginny, pinching her thumb and finger together. "Kingsley, any chance you could warn the Harpies that I might be missing training. It would sound so much better coming from you."
"I suppose you have quite a tally of favours we owe," said the Minister, with a crooked smile. "Yes, okay, I will send a message to Gwennog."
"Get off home now," said McGonagall. "Go and relax. I'll see you Thursday, Hermione."
"Thanks Minerva. Oh, and let me know if we're needed at all with Jane. As tired as we are, we know we might still have duties in that regard."
"Yes, we'll keep you informed."
Hermione took Ginny along to her room, checked she didn't need to take anything with her, then took them to the nearest cupboard and Disapparated to their garden at Godric's Hollow.
They paused and looked at the back of their house, it never felt so welcoming as it did then. Upon entering the house, Ginny got the kettle boiling and saw that the Elves had dropped by with some food and supplies.
"I'm going to take my cuppa up," said Hermione, picking up her mug of tea. She stopped in the hallway and opened the front door, asking Humphrey, her talking phoenix-head door knocker if anyone had called.
"Nope!"
"Nothing odd at all?" Hermione asked.
"Only you asking me that daft question. I've only got one view...and no one can do bugger all out back unless they're 'sposed to be here. But, I'm only a door knocker."
"Thank you," Hermione said, closing the door on any further babble, shaking her head.
"Oh I've soooo missed him," said Ginny sarcastically, walking through with her own mug and going upstairs first. She and Humphrey would never be best friends, but she had to admit she would miss him if he wasn't there.
As they walked upstairs, Hermione said. "To be fair to him, we only left this morning."
"Yeah, then it would sound daft to him."
Both women mightily enjoyed flopping onto their own bed. The beds they had slept in had been comfortable, but there was nothing like your own. After downing mugs of tea they had the luxury of a bath together. Cleaning spells were useful, but having a bath or shower would always feels much better.
Sitting back on their bed, Hermione said, "I could sleep for a week."
"Talking as one still under the cloud of drugged lemonade, I heartily agree," said Ginny.
Hermione cuddled up to Ginny and leaned over and kissed her. "Thank you for going with me. I know it wasn't easy, not any part of it."
"I'd never have let you got alone." Then Ginny gave a little snort. "I don't mean that in a controlling way, I mean I'd always want to help and couldn't bare the thought of you facing all that unknown stuff, without someone you could trust beside you."
"I knew what you meant," said Hermione, then smiled.
"Those people we left – the ones that weren't already dead – they really are, now," Ginny said thoughtfully.
"Yeah, it's that mind-boggling thing with time travel again." Hermione paused, deep in thought. "If you think about it, they were all dead this morning before we went and are still dead now."
"We sort of popped up, like a chapter in a book."
"We hope it was only marginal changes, but what effect did we actually have on those people?"
"You definitely had an effect on Anne Lister," said Ginny.
"I'm sorry about all that," said Hermione. "I really don't know what was going on with me."
"You cared about her, before you met her, and you'll always care about her," Ginny gently kissed her partner on the lips. "That whole business...I sort of knew it would happen. I was already prepared, because it was so obvious. I think it's almost a tourist thing...but with famous people of the past."
"Oh bollocks, don't call me a groupie?!"
"No, I wouldn't say groupie. You weren't infatuated. As I remember, you had a very objective opinion of her before you met and that objectivity never changed. You didn't judge, you just absorbed what you saw for yourself."
"I'm sure that's what Howard Carter did on his Egyptian excavations, but I don't remember reading that he slept with Tutankhamun, other than actual sleeping in the area of the excavation."
Ginny laughed. "It was more of a fumble...really."
"Howard Carter and Tutankhamun?"
"Nooo, you and Anne."
"It's kind of funny, we had that short...'connection'...she would call it. But I did actually sleep with her, only really sleep. It's still twisted."
"I don't think so."
"Yeah, well you're part of the twisted bit, encouraging it!"
"I wanted one of us to know," said Ginny. "She won me over, but she obviously favoured you, so why not. You both respected each other..."
"Now it sounds like a study group or even a transaction..."
"Only if you take it that way. I think it was an amazing experience, in a lot of ways, and I wasn't even the one...connected!"
"It was so difficult knowing things and having to hide it. I hoped I was smoothing the path a little, by lowering her expectations on love, but I doubt it will help," said Hermione.
"I don't think anything will help, from the little I read," said Ginny. "The problem isn't all Ann Walker, it's about Anne herself. Maybe it's experience that's made her that way, but even when she lets someone in, there's a kind of fence around her. I'm not sure anyone can truly get beyond that fence, and when they do, she almost talks herself out of it."
"I'm glad you never talked yourself out of being with me," said Hermione.
"Oh I did!" Ginny said, amused. "Remember, I ran from you in my dreams, and had all those internal debates. I'm glad I had the nerve to not run in real life. "Hermione kissed Ginny's cheeck, then lay close beside her. Ginny draped her arm over her wife. "I'm going to have to sleep now. It must be drug o'clock!"
"I could do with a nap too," Hermione agreed.
They slept for a couple of hours, then both got up and had some supper, before retiring to bed again.
"Tomorrow is a new day," said Hermione.
XXXXXXXXXX
The next morning, after breakfast, Hermione went into her study and brought out the books she had held in her beaded bag, finding a place for them next to other 19th century reference books which she hadn't taken. As she sat at the desk her barn owl, Hugo, fluttered in with a letter attached to his leg. It was from Harry, he wanted both herself and Ginny in at the Ministry to sign statements.
"Blurrghh!" said Ginny, sticking her tongue. "Does that mean we have to be adults again?"
"Seems so," said Hermione. "Let's pop in later this morning and see what's happening, or at least get some of our part done, rather than drag it out an extra day or so."
At the Ministry Harry Potter and Kingsley Shacklebolt collected their statements of all that had happened and got them to sign them.
"Any luck with Jane's parents?" Hermione asked.
"We picked them up last night," the Minister for Magic replied. "It seems to have taken them by surprise."
"Had they arranged a day for Jane to return?"
"They had the sense to say the same day for return, so when Ron went to their door last night, they were not expecting him, and he gestured for back-up and arrested them."
"So they have no magic?" asked Ginny. "They're definitely squibs?"
"That's the thing," said Kingsley. "The mother has the faintest amount."
"So not a total squib," the redhead surmised.
"That's suggesting Massey blood, so far then," said Hermione. "I wonder...has a search been done of their property?"
"It was being carried out early this morning," Kingsley nodded to Harry to confirm.
"Yeah, I've left a team working on cataloguing everything we bagged there and brought here," Harry said.
"Did you find a family tree? Or something like family history research?" Hermione asked.
"Not that I know of," said Harry. "We went for books, computers, devices and things like that."
"In our conversations in 1832, Jane said she her mother had done research on her family tree, but she hadn't seen much of it, or wasn't allowed to see it. If we've shown that, so far the only freelance magical people are from the Massey line, that would have to be one of my first lines of inquiry into that whole subject."
"In that case," said the Minister. "You have my permission to go to the evidence rooms and see if you can find anything. If not, Harry can take you to their house and see if it was missed there."
Hermione looked to Ginny. "Sorry. If you don't want to be involved further, I'd understand if you want to go back home and catch up on some rest."
"Ut uh! I don't go into something like this and bow out to have a nap!"
"I know, but I'll always ask," Hermione squeezed her wife's hand.
Harry led them a few floors lower to a corridor, with a series of rooms. Some had the doors open, showing shelf upon shelf of files and people sorting through those files. Halfway along the corridor, Harry led them into a room which was surprisingly large and several people were checking numbers on bagged items and writing up notes.
On talking to a dark haired witch at one of the tables, she pointed to the other side of the room.
"She says they haven't seen any files in paper form, but we've taken two laptops," Harry explained.
"Could be on a file," agreed Hermione.
"To be honest," said Harry. "I think it's only you or I that stand a chance of getting the most off a laptop. They don't seem to react to much magic, it's down to computer skills, or finger-punching keys and hoping for the best."
Hermione sat a table and opened the first laptop, which booted up fairly quickly. Immediately she checked the files in 'documents' but found nothing. "Okay, I doubted it would be there, but you never know if things get left in plain sight."
The brunette clicked around various computer folders, but so far hadn't found anything that could be a file of documents with the details she was searching for. In progressing from the easy way to find files, to the harder ways, Hermione was almost ready to give up. She opened up the second laptop and did the same searches, but was getting more and more disheartened that she might have to go fiddling around through their remaining possessions at their house.
The second laptop was slightly older and as such showed a less simplified ranges of files in all areas. Hermione ended up in the depths of the laptop's registry and as she looked she came across the word 'GEDCOM' and files named in numbers and letters. Initially she thought nothing of it, but saw it several times. Hovering her cursor over them, showed that the files had been modified a lot, from months apart, to weeks, with the latest one modified as late as 2 November.
"GEDCOM...," Hermione said aloud. "What file is that? I feel I should know it?"
"Open it and find out," said Ginny.
"Is that okay?" Hermione asked Harry. "If it crashes the laptop..."
"We'll take it to a muggle crime experts, if it does," said Harry.
"Right," said Hermione, as she hovered the cursor of the latest file. Double clicking didn't seem to do anything for a moment or two, and then the older laptop screen when black. "Shit, I knew it would crash."
"No, look!" said Ginny, pointing to a green loading line at the bottom of the screen.
After a few more moments the screen flickered again and a program opened ' Family Tree Maker version 16'.
There were several subheadings at one side of the screen and across the top. Hermione clicked on one for an ascending tree and after a few moments a tree loaded. She zoomed in and nodded her head. "Massey. There's Jane and her parents."
She followed the line to Jane's great grandparents whom Ginny and herself had met in 1943; John Massey's death date was left blank a. "They really don't know what happened to him, then."
"I think only Voldemort would have known that," said Hermione.
"My guess is, I might have met him in that cave where the locket was," said Harry. "Inferi everywhere. As he hasn't shown up, not even within their family, he has to be dead and Voldemort liked to make the best use of people, when he could."
"In a lot of ways I hope you're right," Ginny said.
Hermione could see that the Howards had concentrated on one line with only the Massey line covered properly and not so much about other branches or even marriages until they went back further, meaning definite areas of research for her later. She scrolled back another generation of names in list form and clicked back and forth from the list to the tree, seeing names that didn't mean anything, then she stopped. "There are no more Masseys further back than 1770."
"No more research, or one of those brick walls I hear people reach with family trees?" asked Harry.
"It does go back, but the name isn't Massey." Hermione scrolled up another generation and zoomed in slightly. "It's Gaunt."
"Gaunt?" asked Ginny, looking closer at the screen. "Wait...Massey marries into Gaunt or...?"
"Masseys are Gaunts," said Hermione. "It just sort of jumps with no reason for the name changing...or none I can..."
"Can you click on that and expand a profile, if it exists?" pointed Harry to one of the names.
A small profile did appear and it showed that the death of that man was the result of hanging, for committing murder.
"So, a Gaunt is executed for murder. And by the next generation on that line, it looks like they just became Massey." Hermione had followed the line forwards again.
"Makes sense to put distance from the name, and start fresh," said Harry.
"So why didn't the other Gaunts change their name too?" wondered Ginny.
"Oh, here we go," said Hermione, with a touch of almost amusement. "We have Gaunts marrying Masseys, which means it's Gaunts marrying Gaunts."
"They're not all from the same place," Ginny observed. "Leeds, Halifax, Bradford, Barnsley..."
"But they're all within walking distance to someone from that era, when walking twenty miles in a day was not completely unheard of in some instances." Hermione rubbed at her eyes. "And if we go back, they all then descend from brothers and sisters, that are also uncle and aunts. It's only when we get to the later 1700s that a few outsiders marry in."
"I wonder if that's why the Masseys and Gaunts always seem to be helping each other out, even when they're unaware they're doing it?" said Ginny.
"Which means that the boy probably never was in danger. Although he doesn't appear anywhere on this tree, for some reason, I don't think Massey could have killed him any better than you or I," explained Hermione. "I bet they've had disputes and the normal dysfunctional family stuff, but ultimately they're always thrown together. And then the Riddles get thrown in too, but they don't seem to be magical at all, not even squibs."
"So how does one branch keep producing rogues?" asked her partner.
"I'm not sure yet, but I would say the inbreeding could be a clue. Like having some of the things that make a person magical, but not all of the markers, so they miss however it is the Ministry keeps tabs on them. Throw in the Massey name as non connected and it becomes easier to stay hidden. Except Jane...but as she's very talented and strong in magic, she probably had a larger marker that was recognized by the system."
"Would there be a way...perhaps similar to DNA to find actual markers for the rogues?" asked Harry.
"Again, I don't know," said Hermione. "That's the kind of thing I want to research. I think anything similar to DNA would probably show several anomalies and mutations because...well..."
"They didn't get out of the village much!" Ginny finished for her.
"Yes," her wife said, smiling.
Kingsley walked in to see if they had found anything and motioned for them to continue their discussion.
"Today, as things stand," began Harry. "Do you think that squibs may not be squibs? Could they learn to tap into things?"
"For now I would count out nothing," said Hermione, seriously. "We've observed with the Masseys that they're quite strong in magic, or strong in the things they decide to use it for. But, Morten Gaunt was not just untrained only minimal, he was quite weak in a lot of areas. He couldn't Apparate, but he could sense magic being used, just not from where or what it was and his wife was even weaker. It probably accounts for several Gaunts being expelled from Hogwarts or other training, and some just missing the net."
"We know that they became stronger in magic, and a bit more insane," said Harry.
"I wonder if the Gaunts and Masseys have stronger magic the less sanity they have?" said Ginny.
"Explain that theory, if you can?" asked Kingsley.
"Morfin Gaunt was crazy, and even if the time we saw him in 1943 included some kind of dementia, he and his sister were seen to be insane or near to it, but both were strong enough in magic to deceive people and kill people. When we spoke to Morten Gaunt in 1832, he seemed a bit of a cantankerous old bugger – excuse my French! - but I think that was a bit of an act, because when things got serious, he seemed fairly normal and level-headed, just incredibly worried for the boy, even though it wasn't his."
"I'd agree completely with that," said Hermione. "I think they married just enough outside blood to have kept the family going. Morten and his wife were both Gaunts, with so many babies that died after weeks or a few months, so introducing Riddle was the option that worked and we may never know if they planned it, or a nasty incident had a better ending for the the wife than a sexual assault would normally. However, with that amount of inbreeding, each generation was still a bit of Russian Roulette as to which behaviour or magical strength the offspring would have."
"Half of me wants to say 'brilliant work everyone'," said Kingsley. "The half wants me to wake up and pretend I haven't heard any of it." The others looked at him with quizzical expressions. "This opens a can of worms...or a can of Blast-Ended Skrewts. If I was Fudge I'd pretend I hadn't heard any of that, but I'm not."
"How should we proceed, then?" asked Harry, already guessing most of the answer.
"Firstly keep this particular information separate from the investigation into the Howards. The contents of the family tree does not need to be disclosed, only that Mrs. Howard researched the tree, for dates and places of their ancestors, to the time that appeared to be an opening, to change their fortunes. Ideally I'd like some work to be done on the theories you have had already."
Ginny looked tired again and a little worried, as she glanced at Hermione, knowing who he would want involved. "Hermione is the best person to be selected for it," she said.
"Yes," Kingsley answered, seeing both the women's faces, he added. "But...it's not going to be all on Hermione. I will still honour Minerva's need for a Defence Against the Dark Arts professor until Christmas, but I want to have more than just Hermione working on this."
"Perhaps you ought to let her pick, " said Ginny. "This sort of work isn't great if you don't know your colleagues well and all that."
"I don't think it needs to be an emergency," said Hermione. "I hope not, anyway. Think of how few people we've met that could be investigated for this kind of thing. So far we only have a small pocket of intermarried families. There might be others, but unless there are a glut of crimes breaking out, then I think it's safe to take a little time and I think various methods will be needed."
"Exactly my thinking, but I'm sure you'll be fine with my choices, providing you do agree," said Kingsley. "The first person I want working on this, until Hermione can give more time, is Fleur Weasley. She has experience in the Department of Mysteries and a knack for investigating unusual things and cases with any patterns to them."
"She would be at the top of my list," said Hermione, nodding.
"I would leave the other choices up to you both, as to whom you need and when," said Kingsley. "Firstly, though we need to sort out this case against the Howards."
"We'll help in any way that's needed," said Ginny, a little tiredly.
"We've got your statements, so unless something else develops, we probably won't need you until nearer the court case," said the Minister.
"And we're a lot faster than muggle courts," said Harry. "I reckon it will be before Christmas."
"Are the Howards being kept at Azkaban?" asked Hermione.
"Yes, in the better quarters, until conviction, or release," replied Kingsley.
"Release?" said Ginny. "Surely not?"
"No, I wouldn't think so either. When we reach that far, in normal circumstances, we might have to deliver them into a muggle situation, but I doubt that, because of the connection to rogue wizards in the same family line in recent generations. It should be left to us. And of course, it has to be decided if it was just the mother, or also the father, pushing for Jane to do these things."
"Going back to Hogwarts might also be a help to this whole thing about squibs," said Hermione. "I'm wondering if I can get Filch to provide a baseline for us. Find out if he does have some very weak magic and doesn't know it. Despite how he's acted in the past, I'm sure Minerva can help to persuade him to assist."
"Let's hope he hasn't got Gaunt or Massey ancestry," said Harry drily.
"If it's called 'Ministry business' I'm sure he'll be willing to help," said Kingsley. "Maybe with a little guarantee of a commendation."
"Or we could just buy him a crate of cat food for Mrs. Norris," said Ginny.
"I know lots of people would like to test her," said Kingsley. "She has to be at least twenty-five by now!"
"Perhaps, I will...just for the fun of it," said Hermione, amused.
Hermione and Ginny left the Ministry a little while later and went back to their cottage in Godric's Hollow. Once inside, the brunette embraced her wife and held onto her, resting her chin on the red head's shoulder.
"I never intend for this job to get too deep," said Hermione. "What would be the point of me having left before, and leaving Hogwarts to go back to the grind. I think, after the initial stuff that Fleur and me set out, that it should be pretty methodical and flexible."
"As deep as it sounds, I think that too and with Fleur you're not going to push each other to exhaustion. I think it will work."
"I hope so," said Hermione. "And if it doesn't..." she tailed off.
"What?" Ginny pulled back in their embrace to look her wife in the eyes.
"Perhaps I won't work at all...perhaps write a book...but...I don't...," she stopped again.
"Tell me what's on your mind."
"I can't not do something," said Hermione. "But perhaps I might find a time when I want to do much less...just tag around with you for a while."
Ginny smiled. "I'd be happy for you to do that. Only if and when you wanted to do that, though. I could see you writing some great books...either text books for students or something else interesting from any number of subjects."
"Okay, but for now, I go back to Hogwarts...with a few detours for this blasted Howards case, then I work more with Fleur and see where we go."
"Gods, I love you," said Ginny, leaning in to kiss Hermione, wrapping her arms around her, the brunette not quick enough to reply and only mumble into their kiss.
A few minutes later Hermione sighed. "It's made me wonder about about my parents, and not for the first time."
"Squib or just muggle?" replied Ginny.
"It's always made me wonder. I can't feel anything when I'm around them, so I think they are truly non-magical in whichever way it turns out. Perhaps it skipped a generation and one of my grandparents had a little magic?"
"Living in the magical world, as I always have," said Ginny. "...we always had discussions about that kind of subject and gossip and stuff. We always knew about magic missing generations. It wasn't talked about out loud, because squibs can be very sensitive, but it was always there."
"It doesn't make my parents sinister," said Hermione. "I might test their DNA out of interest though, if we ever get a database big enough to find anything that points to magic."
"All for the future," the redhead said.
A/N: On the Sunday they left Shibden Hall, Anne did indeed pack her 'portmanteau' to go to York. Another reason for picking that week, as nothing much happens and then she goes off visiting. It helped to pace the story too, knowing I only had those days to play with. Plus, I've always liked claustrophobic stories that race along without too much thumb-twiddling. :)
The name changing mystery on the family trees is something I've come across in family history research a lot. From the things I've looked at, it's usually someone running from debts or a situation(rather than magical murders!) and starting somewhere fresh with a new name, unofficially changed. A branch of my family moved 200 miles from their usual area and used a different, very ordinary surname for thirty years and some of their kids used the new name, however when they died they went back to the proper original name. Confusing but fascinating. A couple of mystery lines I thought I had lost in my family appeared again thanks to DNA and getting their story of name changes to fill in the blanks. AND anyone thinking they don't have mysteries, illegitimate kids or inbreeding in their family is kidding themselves, everyone has an incidence of it somewhere, and often multiple times. :)