New chapter
I wish you all a Happy New Year, love, health, money, jobs opportunities... I wish you whatever you want for this new year :)
Thanks WhenIAmCalling for being the beta on this chapter
chester258 welcome :)
C-Melinda welcome :)
dingus101 welcome :)
LCMe welcome :)
and finally for this week tinkstephens1 welcome :)
Xx
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On Sunday, after lunch, Hermione, Fred, and George, who had finally decided to give Hermione a chance, were brainstorming about what Hermione and Fred had already discovered about time turners.
They had made a very interesting discovery. In Matthew Bagshot's book, which Hermione had not finished yet, there was a full chapter about how time turners were all connected.
It was written that a time turner, or its magic, could sense the presence of other time turners, except when a time turner was in use. The sensation described by the writer was very similar to what Hermione had felt almost a week ago at Ollivander's.
They all agreed to say that Ollivander was a weird enough man to possess a time turner. They needed to check with Percy. If Ollivander really had one, he should have registered it, he should have...
« Maybe Voldy's morons know about this one and are actually looking for this one. Would make more sense that being after McGonagall's, wouldn't it? » suggested Fred.
Hermione and George nodded, both looked worried.
Hermione did not like this new discovery, and neither did Fred and George, as none of them really trusted the wand maker.
They were ready to bet that Ollivander had never registered his time turner otherwise Kingsley, Percy, and all the wizards working at the Ministry would have looked for this one first. The shop was just meters away from the Ministry.
« What if he had created one, when Voldemort had taken him? Maybe he had ordered Ollivander to make him a time turner. Hermione, didn't you say that you have read that creating a time turner was as complicated as making wands? » said George.
« I did read it but making a wand is complicated because of the elements that you need to pair, you need to be sure that they can produce magic. On the other hand, creating a time turner is not just about associating a tail of whatever with a specific wood, it is very complex magic. I am not sure that Ollivander is qualified to make one. Besides, you need goblin's gold; otherwise it won't work. » explained Hermione.
« And remind me who was with you at Malfoy's Manor, and I am not talking about Luna or Dean. » stated Fred.
Hermione bit her lips; she had never thought about this possibility. Nevertheless, Griphook had been caught by accident. The goblin had decided to run away, that was true, but it had not been because Voldemort was after him.
On the other hand, it was true that Griphook had run away because he did not want to acknowledge Voldemort as his Master, who knew what Voldemort had ordered them to do.
She did not want to believe in that theory but it was possible. Voldemort wanting to possess a time turner was plausible, he knew that he had lost control and a time turner could have given him the possibility of controlling time and space. As for Dolohov and Rookwood knowing, Voldemort would have never told them but he would have told Bellatrix, who was married to Rodolphus Lestrange. Would she have told him though? Hermione doubted it but who knew, she did not know what bond Bellatrix and her husband shared but Andromeda did.
She looked at Fred gloomily as she was wondering if this war was ever going to end, really end...
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They regretted not being able to talk with Kingsley or one of the Aurors but exposing Hermione's secret was way too dangerous. At least they had Percy and Andromeda to help them, but if what they were thinking was correct, they needed to catch this time turner before the Death Eaters.
The time turner was hidden at the shop and the shop was under the constant vigilance of the Aurors which could explain why the Death Eaters had not tried anything yet.
Soon, the trials would start and people would be sent to Azkaban. At least that was comforting. Therefore, after the first of September, Ollivander' shop would not have to be overprotected, perhaps the Death Eaters were just waiting for the right moment, patiently waiting...
Hermione did not want to put Fred and George's lives in danger but Fred would never let her do it all alone, she knew it. George, who was observing her, insisted on how dangerous this could be and he added that they should not try to find the time turner that was hidden at the shop.
« We should try to find a way to destroy McGonagall's one or, and it is a stupid suggestion but now that we know this, why don't we just replace it where it belongs so McGonagall can take it to the Ministry where it will be safe? » finished George.
« We cannot because the Ministry is going to check all the time turners. We need to find a way to wipe off Hermione's trip without putting our arses in danger and we haven't found anything about how yet. » stated Fred.
« If you destroy a time turner, which is almost as complicated as getting rid of a horcrux, then you take the risk of erasing the changes that have been done-well the unwritten ones. And as we don't know yet if my trip led to a written change or an unwritten one, we can't take any risks. » clarified Hermione who had noticed that George was looking rather confused after Fred's comment.
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George was rubbing his chin. Hermione and Fred's situation was so twisted. Of course, he was grateful for what Hermione had done and forever would be but a part of him was fearing the consequences of her reckless action. They had to sort that written/unwritten thing out. All this speculation was driving him crazy.
« Well I think that we should figure that out first and forget about Ollivander's time turner, at least for the time being. They aren't going to try to break into Ollivander's, it is too dangerous for them at the moment and unlike we love to think, they aren't stupid; Dolohov was top of his class, OWLS and NEWTS. »
Hermione and Fred had to agree with George on this one.
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They spent the rest of the afternoon studying the book written by Matthew Bagshot and as Hermione had suspected from the beginning, it did not give them any hint about how to resolve their biggest doubt. Nevertheless, they learnt that a protected unwritten action was as good as a written one and despite their countless doubts, they were sure about one thing: Fred was alive either because of the spell or because he was supposed to live which meant that his life was not in immediate danger.
They could not return the time turner where it belonged though, it would be silly as it would expose Hermione and Fred.
They did think about destroying it but McGonagall had told Kingsley that she was going to bring him the time turner and Kingsley was probably already wondering what was taking so long...
« We have no choice, we need to find a way to strip down the time turner, extract my trip-which is one of those grains of sand, according to the book-before returning it. » explained Hermione.
« Yes and we have to go back to the black market. Tomorrow we have to go to your house but we could go on Tuesday. » pursued Fred.
« But we don't have polyjuice potion and the Death Eaters might be there, how are we going to make it. It is not safe, we cannot, can we?» asked Hermione desolately.
Fred and George's eyes met. They had a solution but they could not tell her anything, yet. They still had not had time to set a moment to perform the unbreakable vow.
« Well that's led to part B of our afternoon. We have few ideas and samples for the no polyjuice needed kit but we cannot share them with you unless you are ready for the unbreakable vow. You did agree so what do you say about doing it now?» suggested George who wanted to corner Hermione.
It was so hard for him to believe that she had really accepted that condition. Hermione was constantly surprising him lately, that was true but this one just seemed too big to be true.
Fred had stopped breathing, George had been straightforward, too straightforward, or at least he thought so, indeed Hermione answered that she was ready.
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It was almost time for dinner. They really had spent all afternoon in the twins' room. It had been productive and they had not been disturbed as most of the inhabitants of the Burrow had left the house after lunch but soon they all would return so if they wanted to perform the unbreakable vow, they had to hurry up.
Hermione went to Ginny's room to pick up her diary where she had written the vows. The twins read them and approved of every word.
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A few minutes later, they were ready.
Hermione and Fred were standing in the middle of the room. George was standing between them, he was the witness. He was feeling like a priest at a wedding, mostly because of the way that his brother and his girlfriend were looking at each other.
George even joked about it, reminding them jovially that he was not going to marry them. The lovers blushed but replied that they knew. George rolled his eyes, cleared his throat and asked them if they were ready.
Fred took Hermione hands in his, they were ready.
George raised his wand and started:
« Will you Hermione Jean Granger keep all our recipes secret and never divulge their contents no matter what they offer to you in compensation? »
« I will. »
« And even under threats, blackmail, extortion or persecution you won't reveal anything? »
« I won't. »
« And do you Hermione Jean Granger swear that you won't reveal any of our secrets even if you and Fred break up, even if Fred breaks your heart? »
« I swear. » she said timidly.
She knew that this line would be the hardest. Fred had said that there was no need to have a line like this one but George had insisted.
« And will you keep your secret until the day you die?»
« I will. »
All smiles, George put his wand back in his pocket. He was glowing because no matter would happen, Hermione could not betray them. Unlike Fred, he had never forgotten when she had threatened to write to their mother.
He also very happy as he knew that there was only one thing that could have made Hermione do it and it was love. He looked into his brother's eyes and smiled. Fred chuckled, he grabbed Hermione and George and hugged them tightly.
« One for all and all for one. I love you both. » he said as a huge smile was lighting his face.
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When she went to bed that night, Hermione stayed awake for a while, looking at the ceiling.
She was linked to Fred, she had accepted an unbreakable vow and she was not even worried about what they had done, quite the contrary actually, she was feeling fuller and happier.
It was common in the Muggles' world to say that love was blind, perhaps it was true.
She tried to close her eyes but her brain was still not ready to rest. She was trying to think logically about Ollivander's time turner. George was right, they did not have to care about the other time turner and its purchasers but didn't they have to be sure that their theory was right? That was the thing that was bothering her.
In the past, every time that she had found herself with Harry and Ron in similar situations, they always had taken the risk even if it had often driven they them into more trouble.
She had assumed that the twins were not like Harry and Ron and that they would not put their lives in danger for the sake of the wizarding community or to satisfy a hero complex that the trio had but Hermione was not used to this careless attitude just yet.
She had said that she was done chasing the bad guys when Kingsley had come to recruit aurors. Perhaps it was time to really put her words into action and to focus on what was really important- finding out why Fred had really survived.
She sighed, closed her eyes, and finally fell asleep.
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next chapter at some point next week