Harry Potter was confused. He was enjoying a day out with his lovely wife in Diagon Alley. He and Hermione didn't always get much time together because of their jobs, so he always enjoyed it. Somehow, though, he managed to experience the infamous Potter Luck once again and has been whisked away from his wife and their date by a horribly mispronounced spell that he couldn't make out the words to at all, even when he reviewed the event in his head with his eidetic memory that came from his considerable Occlumency skills.
He looked out at the sea of faces in front of him and wondered why he was seemingly inside the Great Hall of Hogwarts, seeing as there were impenetrable anti-apparation wards around the famous establishment. The murmured going through the crowd at an astonishing rate were immediately snuffed by the power-laden words of the school's head.
"SILENCE," the voice boomed, and Harry froze and his face took on a comical expression of surprise. He knew that voice. He hadn't heard it for nearly 16 years since the person in question had died all that time ago.
That sounds like Albus Dumbledore! Harry mentally screamed to himself. The popular headmaster had died when Harry was at the end of his sixth year, at the hands of his own potions master. Snape. Harry's eyes darkened in rage as the thought of the traitor. The headmaster may have been a bit manipulative, but he had always had the best of intentions, and never deserved to die in the way he did. Double-crossed by one of his best friends.
Harry was brought out of his shocked thoughts as a bright flash lit up the hall and a thump sounded from behind him. He turned, facing the head table and the noise, where he saw his beautiful wife looking like she'd been unceremoniously dumped on her bum, which had probably happened. Harry had to stifle a snort at his wife's indignant expression. She glared at him.
"Harry?" Hermione whispered furiously, "What's going on?" This seemed to shake the professors out of their reverie and each quickly stood and pointed their wands at the intruding couple.
"Who are you, and what business do you have here?" Dumbledore inquired. "Better yet, how did you bypass the wards?" Harry felt the compulsion to answer wash over him and had to struggle to resist. There was a reason Dumbledore was considered such a powerful wizard. At this, the hall quieted down again, as conversations had broken out once more when Hermione was dropped in.
"Apologies, Headmaster. I'm not exactly sure how we got here." Harry looked out into the crowd and saw a very familiar mop of black hair. "May I ask as to what year it is currently?" There was a quiet gasp from Hermione as she comprehended their predicament. Dumbledore peered at then over his half-moon spectacles, eyeing them suspiciously.
"What an odd question. It is clearly 1994. Have you been living in seclusion?" Dumbledore chuckled at his own joke. Harry did not look amused. His expression turned grave. "Now, I expect you to tell me how exactly you managed to penetrate Hogwarts wards." Harry stood up and offered Hermione his hand. She grasped it and he pulled her up.
"Take a look." Harry made eye contact with the man who had been like a grandfather to him.
"Legilimens," Dumbledore intoned. Instantly, the lives of Harry and Hermione Potter began to flash through his eyes.
A lonely child, abused by relatives, made to work in a manner similar to a house-elf. A smart child scorned and excluded by her peers, who preferred to read a book rather than have friends. The wonder of magic. The promise of a new world. Away from the cupboard, away from the bullies, and into the warm and powerful embrace of magic.
The wonder of finally having friends! The sheer terror caused by a Halloween mountain troll attack. The mystery of a protected magical artifact, under the trapdoor. The confrontation of a Voldemort possessed professor.
Back to the cupboard. Back to the bullies. Beaten. Teased. Rescued. The comfort of a surrogate family, a sea of red hair.
The return to school. A fraud defense teacher. The sister of their best mate pulling away into herself, hoping subconsciously that someone would help. A frozen cat. Shunned. The whispers, The Heir of Slytherin. It must be him, right? He's a bloody parselmouth for Merlin's sake!
Petrified. Lonely, frozen lying in the hospital wing, listening to her friend ramble on about the goings-on around the castle, just looking for something, anything to say. To make her feel better.
"I - I wish y-you were h-here 'Mione. I really m-miss you…" Harry stuttered, holding her frozen hand. "I… I don't think I can do this without you." Meanwhile, she drew comfort in his words, keeping the loneliness at bay, even if only for a little while. Ron scoffed, "C'mon mate, let's go play some chess. Leave the petrified bookworm alone." Harry scowled. Ron left. Harry stayed.
Basilisk. More petrifications.
HER BODY WILL LIE IN THE CHAMBER FOREVER.
A dead basilisk. A rescued Ginny Weasley. A destroyed Horcrux, though nobody knew what it was at the time.
Leaving again. Beatings. Bullies. Humiliation.
Back again, but the cold was tangible. But soon, a surrogate uncle was there chasing away the darkness with a glowing animal.
"Can you teach us?" They would ask. Ron had quit quickly but Harry and Hermione persevered.
Hormone cried as she watched Harry plummet from the sky. Hermione cried as Harry and Ron exiled her over a broomstick.
And that was how Harry found her at midnight in the common room.
Harry crept down the stairs. He couldn't sleep. He felt as if his heart was being torn in two. He didn't want to shun Hermione, but Ron did, and Ron was his first friend. In fact, Harry agreed with Hermione but knew Ron would be angry, so he kept his opinions to himself.
He neared the fireplace and his favorite armchair that he would share with Hermione and study. That he used to share with Hermione, he corrected himself.
He heard quiet sniffling as he got close. His heart leaped into his throat as he recognized the source of the sniffling as Hermione.
He reached out and touched her nightgown-covered shoulder.
"May I sit?" He quietly asked, remorse coloring his voice. The sniffling stopped, and she looked up at him, scrutinizing him closely as if searching his face for something vitally important. Unnerved by the stare, he shifted uncomfortably but kept his hand on her shoulder.
It seemed that she found what she was looking for as she nodded her assent and forced a smile. He sat next to her, their legs touching. She looked away and a tear ran down her cheek. He put a hand on her knee and her head snapped up to look at him.
"I'm sorry. I'm truly, truly sorry. I know an apology will never cover all of the pain I've caused you, but I want a chance to make it up to you. I should never have listened to Ron, the jealous git he is. I let him taint my emotions and influence me when in reality I agreed with you the whole time. Is there is any way that I can ever make it up to-" he was interrupted as she put a shaking finger to his lips and broke into a fresh wave of tears, but this time she didn't look away, she wrapped her arms around him and buried her head in his chest, sobs wracking her body. She clung to him for dear life and all he could do was hold her.
This was an enlightening experience for Harry. He always saw Hermione as their rock, the one who was strong. It never crossed his mind before that she sometimes needed comfort too. He suddenly felt even guiltier as he remembered past occasions where she was looking down and he ignored it because he had always thought that she didn't need help because she was strong.
After a minute or so, she had gone back to sniffling quietly. He used one hand to tilt her face towards him. He cupped her cheek and she opened her eyes and stared into his.
After a comfortable pause, he decided he needed to get some things out into the open. "Hermione. I'll never abandon you again. I can see how hard this past week has been on you. Screw Ron. I know he'll be mad, but I don't care anymore. I care more about you anyway, I just never realized until now."
"Thank you, Harry," she whispered huskily. "I can't just automatically trust you totally again, but this conversation has helped me a little in that regard. About Ron, I haven't really told you how he treats me, have I? Well, whenever you aren't around, he's worse than he was in first year before the troll. I just tried to ignore it because I knew how much your friendship meant to him, and - and - an…" She trailed off as she broke down into sobs again. Harry's only response was to clutch her tighter.
As he processed what she had said, his magic began boiling under his skin in tandem with his emotions. "That bastard!" He seethed. "I won't put up with him anymore, Hermione. No more Golden Trio. Just me and you, if you're alright with that, of course. I just won't tolerate bullying against my best friend, especially if it comes from my other friend, that jealous prat."
"Thank you, Harry."
Of course, Ron was infuriated. Harry and Hermione were quick to end their friendships with him.
Without Ron's interference, Harry and Hermione got closer as the year continued. As they rode upon a hippogriff to save Sirius, Hermione finally realized that she liked Harry more than a best friend should. Harry, of course, was at the time more interested in rescuing his innocent godfather being held prisoner.
They said goodbye at King's Cross with promises to write. Daniel and Emma Granger looked on with pride as they realized their daughter finally had a true friend.
But then, back to bullying, beatings, and then the World Cup, which Fred and George invited them to. They were still close to the Weasleys, just not Ron.
Harry and Hermione went to the Granger home and stayed there for the rest of the summer. For the first time, Harry had a truly happy end of the summer.
The blue flames from the goblet flashed every time a new piece of paper was released.
VIKTOR KRUM OF DURMSTRANG!
FLEUR DELACOUR OF BEAUXBATONS!
CEDRIC DIGGORY OF HOGWARTS!
HARRY POTTER?
HARRY POTTER?!
The first task, a nesting mother dragon guarding an egg. A simple summoning charm solved that. Wizards lacked common sense but Hermione had it in spades. A Yule Ball announced…
"Um… Hermione? Can I speak to you for a minute?" Harry called across the common room. Hermione flashed him a smile, packed up her study materials and walked to him. He gestured for her to follow. They went to their armchair. The person there vacated it quickly. Everyone knew it was their chair. They sat down.
Harry softly touched her leg. "Hermione? Umm… willyougototheballwithme?" He blurted stiffly in such contradiction to his posture that Hermione couldn't help but giggle.
"Sorry Harry, I couldn't quite make that out. Can you repeat what you said?" He tensed. Harry pulled his gaze from the ground and locked eyes with her. The intensity of his gaze was so much that they both blushed, but neither looked away.
"I - Um… I was… Uh… Hoping you might want to accompany me to the b-ball?" He stuttered out as her jaw hit the ground.
"Yes yes yes!" She squealed, a very un-Hermione like noise. He sighed in relief, his posture relaxing once again. "But why would you want to go with little old me?"
"Honestly? Hermione, you're the best person I know. There's no one else in the world I'd rather be - er - go with," he declared passionately. He just hoped she hadn't caught his slip. Fortunately for him, she had. She quickly pulled him into a rough kiss and their senses exploded. Suddenly, he seized up and a black mist came out of his scar. An inhuman scream came from the mist and it exploded, covering everyone in the room apart from Harry and Hermione with a dusty substance. Everyone stared wide-eyed and open-mouthed at the couple. Harry promptly passed out.
With the Horcrux gone, Harry's magic received a significant boost. He was now more powerful than Dumbledore. Once Dumbledore noticed that the Horcrux was gone, he immediately called the pair to his office and confessed all of his plans and schemes to them. Since Harry wasn't a Horcrux anymore, he didn't have to die.
Harry was informed of many things. Firstly, he never had to go to the Dursleys in the first place. He was supposed to go to the Longbottoms, Sirius, Andromeda Tonks, Amelia Bones, or Remus. He was informed that he was to be put there so he would be more willing to sacrifice at the end. He was enraged at this turn of events and almost destroyed Dumbledore's office. He would have if it wasn't for Fawkes calming him down. Second, he was told that because Hermione removed the soul piece from Harry's head, a slimmer of her soul replaced it, and a slight amount of his soul combined with hers due to the new connection that they had. They asked what this meant, and were told that this was called a love bond. It didn't mean much. The only effects it had were feeling a slight echo of their partner's emotions, but it was so insignificant that it was hard to notice even with intense concentration. The real benefit was that they were essentially Horcruxes for each other, so they would die at the same time, or not at all, though they were love based anchors rather than hate and murder as the foundation.
The second task went by in a flash. A very wet and very angry Harry pulled a wet Hermione out of the lake and screamed at the judges for taking someone as a hostage for a sporting event without consent.
Kill the spare echoed through the graveyard as Cedric's soul was torn apart by a green curse.
Bolts of red and green power connected as Harry and Voldemort dueled.
The minister was steadfast in his denials and that Sirius was a traitor and Voldemort was dead.
A smear campaign began to trash Harry and Dumbledore.
The senior undersecretary to the minister was appointed to the DADA position and tortured Harry with a blood quill. I will not tell lies was another scar that would never fade. Harry, Remus, and Dumbledore went to the ministry and destroyed the prophecy orb in the DoM. Voldemort arrived, and they held him off, though Remus was stunned and pushed through the Veil of Death by Bellatrix. The minister was forced to acknowledge the return of Voldemort.
He was out of his office by the end of the week, with Amelia Bones the new minister.
Sirius Black was announced innocent after a quick testimony under Veritaserum.
Harry and Hermione returned to the Granger home for the summer. It was the best summer of Harry's life. They learned occlumency, and Harry and Hermione could feel each other's emotions more clearly.
In sixth year, they saw Tom's memories. Dumbledore got Hufflepuff's cup and the Gaunt ring. Sirius got Slytherin's locket. Harry found Ravenclaw's Diadem while exploring the Room of Hidden Things. It was by pure chance that Hermione stumbled upon Nagini, Voldemort's final Horcrux and also his familiar. Harry felt Hermione's turbulent emotions, making a mental note that their partner's emotions became clearer when in distress. He quickly reached her, summoned the Sword of Gryffindor, and decapitated it.
Snape killed Dumbledore with an Avada Kedavra to the back. Harry killed Voldemort that same night.
The final battle had many casualties. As they walked back to the great hall, they saw Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood. They had started to date earlier in the year. Luna was lying on the floor, signature dreamy expression plastered to her face, even at the end, when the life was gone from her eyes. Neville was lying dead on top of her. By the looks of it, he defended her to the last.
They graduated Hogwarts with distinction. Hermione the valedictorian and Harry close in second place.
There was a Death Eater raid on their engagement party years later. Sirius and Susan Bones were killed. Harry wept for the death of the last true Marauder while Hermione rubbed soft circles into his back, her head on his shoulder.
Amelia Bones committed suicide two weeks later, distraught over the death of her lover and her niece that she raised.
Their wedding captured a lot of media attention, after all, it was the Man-Who-Won and the brightest witch of the generation.
Two years later, they were walking through Diagon Alley on a date and were cursed from behind with a mangled spell. It only hit Harry but Hermione was also affected because of their bond. They landed with a plop into the Great Hall in the middle of the sorting feast of 1994
Dumbledore withdrew from their minds and collapsed into his seat.
"My apologies, Lord and Lady Potter, I see there has been an incident with time?" Dumbledore asked wearily.
At the far end of the Gryffindor table, two fourth years, one with bushy brown hair and an overbite and the other with unruly black hair and a lightning-bolt shaped scar fainted from pure shock.
As their bodies hit the ground with a discernible thump, the two newcomers and the headmaster peered curiously at them while the rest of the school continued to gape at the travelers. Whispers ran rampant.
"Is that Granger? I can't believe she got so hot." "You can't make a move on her, you dolt. She's married to Potter, plus she's way older." "What about the younger one? She looks pretty good too…"
As conversations like these happened all over the hall, Ron Weasley stared at them in jealousy. He couldn't believe that they got married. He wanted Granger. She was his! It didn't cross his mind at all that he hadn't talked to either in months, other than to ridicule them.
Slowly, the two fourth years on the ground came to. Harry groaned and clutched his head. Hermione tousled his hair and snickered.
"Aw, is little Harry hurt?" She drawled. Harry mock-glared at her and got to his feet.
"Get up, you lazy bum!" Harry retorted. He offered her a hand and she grasped it. He pulled her up and she wrapped her arms around him. They sat down on the edge of the bench and looked towards the head table and the source of their shock. As they each locked eyes with their counterparts, they got a very strong urge to walk towards them. They wrenched their eyes away and locked eyes with each other, panting.
"Wow. That was intense." Harry breathed. "Do you know what that was?" Hermione looked pensive. She was slightly chewing on her bottom lip, which made Harry's breath hitch.
"Hmm… Well… I think it might be possible that since there is only really supposed to be one copy of ourselves here, that maybe our body is strongly suggesting to us that we really ought to be only in one body?" Hermione proposed. "I can't think of anything else, as I don't think anyone else has ever time traveled beyond a few hours before."
She looked back towards the people out of time. Future!Hermione whispered something to Dumbledore, and when he nodded, took Future!Harry's hand and marched over to the Gryffindor table where Harry and Hermione were clinging to each other. Harry looked up at them.
"Well… With the Potter luck, I'm not surprised something like this happened," Harry stated blandly. He stuck out his hand, prompting Hermione to do the same. The future couple looked at them curiously and each took their counterpart's hand in a handshake at the same time. There was a further flash of light, and there didn't appear to be a future couple anymore. Instead, Harry and Hermione were floating, surrounded by a nimbus of swirling white light.
The light faded, and the couple slumped to the ground, unconsciousness taking them as their bodies integrated the new magical cores and memories that they just absorbed. Their brains rewired themselves to be more mature, and a black cloud came out of Harry's scar. It screamed the same unholy scream as 'last time' and exploded, coated everyone with a dusty substance. The bond between the future couple strengthened subtly as the younger bond that newly formed combined with it. This time, even Dumbledore looked shocked, but no one looked as shocked as Harry and Hermione. They gaped at each other.
"We're-" Harry started.
"-younger and-" Hermione continued.
"-older?" They finished together.
"I feel more powerful," Harry whispered to Hermione. "More powerful than this life or our past one." This made Hermione introspective. She examined her magical core and noticed it was one-third larger than her old core. She quickly processed this information and decided that her magical cores combined.
"Harry," she whispered just as quietly, "I think our magical cores combined with our counterparts' cores." They looked up at the headmaster, who still hadn't collected his jaw from the ground, and then back to each other. Hermione subtly nodded to Harry, who smoothly extracted his wand and obliviated everyone in the hall with one swish of his wand. It wouldn't do to have people know they were from the future, even Dumbledore, no matter how wise he was. With a powerful Scourgify, the black Horcrux dust was gone too.
They scrambled to sit down as everyone in the hall blinked at the same time and looked confusedly at each other. They could have sworn that something important just happened but they couldn't quite place what it was. Hermione looked at Harry and after a silent conversation, they silently resolved to change the war to end faster this time. There was no need for Dumbledore to die. Remus would live, and marry Tonks, and have Teddy, so he wouldn't have to be raised by a single mother. Neville and Luna would live. Sirius and Susan would live. Amelia wouldn't commit suicide, because she would have Sirius and Susan. A tear rolled down Hermione's cheek as she thought of their dead friends. Harry wiped it away with his thumb and gave her a tender look as if to say 'Hey, none of that now, they're still alive. We can save them this time.' Hermione gave him a half-smile and kissed his cheek in appreciation for his sensitivity.