Author's Note: Welcome! This will be the longest story I've written so far and it's going to be quite the ride. Though I've listed romance as one of the genres, this is primarily an adventure/self-discovery story. It's going to be a long time until we see Sirius/Hermione, but I promise you that it will be worth the wait.
That being said, this is a unique story. I've never come across a story quite like this and I'm so excited to explore and share it with you. I hope you love it as much as I do :).
Everything you recognize belongs to the lovely JK Rowling.
The Dark Lord's Curse
Summary: When Draco succumbs to Voldemort's final curse, Hermione is sent back in time to stop Voldemort once and for all. Starts off Draco/Hermione, eventual slow-burn Sirius/Hermione
Main Characters:
Present: Hermione Granger/Malfoy, Draco Malfoy, Daphne Greengrass, Harry Potter, Ginny Weasley/Potter
Past: Hermione Granger/Fawley, Regulus Black, Lily Evans, James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew
Part 1: The Legacy
Chapter 1
The Department of Mysteries was busier than usual for a Wednesday morning. Hermione frowned as she weaved her way through the crowded corridors, both curious and annoyed at what had her coworkers in an uproar. Their hushed tones made it impossible for her to hear what was going on.
On a normal day, Hermione would've tried to get to the bottom of it. She loved her job as an Unspeakable and if the whole department was excited about something, then chances were that she would be too. That was the best thing about her job. Her coworkers loved knowledge just as much as she did.
But today, she couldn't be bothered with the latest gossip.
When she reached her office, Hermione shut the door and leaned back against the cheap wood. No matter what happened in the outside world, this was her safe place. It had been her escape from home for the past few months. Already, she could feel the tension in her neck loosen. She felt like she could breathe again.
Shaking her head to clear those thoughts, Hermione walked to her desk and took a seat. She was about to look through her memos when a knock on the door interrupted her. Stifling a groan, she told them to enter.
Her boss' secretary poked her head in. "Mrs Malfoy? Mr Walters wants to see you."
"Does it have anything to do with the commotion going on outside?" Hermione asked. "And please call me Hermione."
"I'm afraid I can't disclose that. If you could come by soon, that would be great."
"Thanks, Joan."
The secretary lingered in the doorway. "I just wanted to say congratulations. It's not every day your husband gets selected to run for Minister for Magic," Joan blushed. "You and Mr Malfoy are the ultimate power couple."
"Thank you. I'm very proud of him," Hermione smiled but let it fall as soon as Joan closed the door.
Her gaze was drawn to the muggle picture of her and Draco on her desk. It was one of her favourites, taken on holidays in Greece a couple of years ago. Her head was thrown back in laughter and Draco wore the biggest grin. They were both tanned and looked so young.
Hermione couldn't remember what they were laughing about, but back then, it didn't take much. Making him smile had been one of her favourite things to do. It made his whole face change.
But it had been a long time since they'd laughed together, let alone smiled at each other.
Getting up, she made her way to her boss' office. Her mind ran through the possibilities of what he wanted to talk about. Most likely, it was a new assignment. She'd just finished her research on magical DNA a few weeks ago and had finally tied up the project's loose ends.
Though the department's uproar this morning made her nervous. With Draco running for Minister, the last thing she needed was more excitement in her life. Too soon, she arrived at Walters' office. Joan waved her in from her desk outside and Hermione slipped into the room.
Her boss was in the middle of scribbling something down but looked up at her arrival and smiled.
George Walters was an eccentric looking man. His grey hair was always in a state of disarray and his spectacles were always crooked. So crooked that you had to restrain yourself from fixing them. He was odd, but he was a genius. It was strange how often that combination proved true.
"Hermione! Excellent. Please have a seat."
"Thank you," she said. "Joan told me you wanted to see me?"
"Yes. I'm sure you've heard the rumours going around?" Walters said.
She shook her head. "I'm afraid my mind has been elsewhere."
"Ah, your husband's run for Minister. Congratulations."
"Thank you," Hermione said, leaning forward. "Why is everyone so excited today?"
That was the right question to ask because his whole face lit up. "My whole life, I've been looking for this. I knew that I was close, but I was scared that the discovery would happen after my lifetime. It was regrettable that we lost Melanie of course, but –"
"What do you mean we lost Melanie?"
She wasn't close to the Unspeakable, but Hermione did work with her on occasion. Melanie was an older Unspeakable, close to retiring, and had always been kind to Hermione. This was a blow to the department.
Though Melanie was known for being meticulous and careful, so if she was lost… What did they find?
"I'm sorry, my excitement got the best of me. Let me start over. Yesterday, we found King Arthur's tomb."
"Really? That's incredible," Hermione said, her full attention on Walters. The implications of this could change magic as they knew it. "How? What did you find?"
Her boss smiled, though it was sadder now. "Melanie found it. She followed the procedure to the letter, but our protocols are only in place for modern magic…"
"You said she was lost… does that mean that she disappeared? She could still be alive?"
"Yes. Precisely. Unfortunately, there's no way of knowing if she'll return to us until we know more about the tomb."
Hermione leaned back in her chair. This was… huge. People had been searching for King Arthur's tomb for centuries. Not much was known about the time of Arthur and Merlin except for the myths and legends that surrounded them. It was one of the reasons the subject wasn't covered at Hogwarts.
"What does this have to do with me?" Hermione asked.
"I want you to lead this project."
Hermione had been prepared to hear many things, but this was not one of them. She was still relatively new to the department. There were senior Unspeakables that were more qualified to lead such an enormous project.
But, a project like this would make her career.
"Why me?"
"You know that things are run differently in this department. Leading a project has nothing to do with age, but with ability and magic compatibility," Walters explained.
"Yes, but-"
He frowned. "Do you doubt your magical ability, Mrs Malfoy? You have accomplished some incredible things in this department already. Your research into magical DNA is going to be a boon for the magical world for decades to come. And that's without bringing up your adventures at Hogwarts."
"Thank you, sir. This is a huge opportunity."
"It is. I had to make sure that I selected the right person for it," Walters said. "Once you sign the confidentiality contract, I will have Melanie's notes and the report of her disappearance brought to your office. I want a list of who you want on your team by the end of the day."
"Yes, sir. I will review it with Joan and get started," Hermione said standing up. "I do appreciate this opportunity."
"I know. You're going to make us proud."
When Hermione reached the door, she paused. "What do you think happens to those that disappear? Do you think they're still alive?"
"I know most think they die," Walters said, pondering her question. "I like to think they go somewhere magical and see things that we can only begin to imagine. But maybe I've read the Chronicles of Narnia one too many times."
She smiled and left, dropping by Joan's office. The contract was already drawn up and ready to sign. Hermione read over it carefully, relieved that it was the standard contract. It prevented her from revealing the project or its secrets to those outside of the department.
After Rookwood spilt department secrets to Voldemort, Walters implemented stricter security measures. The knowledge they found was dangerous in the wrong hands, which is why even the Minister for Magic didn't know of the work that happened here. It was the Ministry's most secretive department.
Once she signed the contract, the day flew by in a flurry of reports. Hermione had finished reading through Melanie's notes. It wasn't exactly clear how Melanie had figured out where the tomb was. She had kept that information hidden.
Hermione wasn't surprised at her secrecy. Even with the contract, the information here wasn't completely safe. It was still unknown how many Unspeakables were Voldemort sympathizers. Hermione didn't like to dwell on those types of thoughts, it was too easy to become paranoid.
From her digging, it seemed like the wards might've had something to do with her disappearance. The ward disabling sounded very intricate. It had taken several curse breakers and ward specialists to figure out how to deactivate them. Wards were tricky and that was before you threw old magic into the mix.
Though according to the reports, the wards were successfully disabled. They had run the usual tests multiple times to make sure. But something had gone wrong, though no one knew what. They had managed to open the tomb, a large room in a cave, and had started cataloguing its contents.
One minute, Melanie was staring at King Arthur's bones, and the next, she had disappeared. They had conducted a full search of the site. Tried everything they could to locate the lost Unspeakable. But the search was fruitless.
Joan knocked on her door, startling her. "Do you have your team list? I'm about to head home for the day."
"I do," Hermione said, grabbing the piece of parchment and handing it to her. "What time is it?"
"A little after six."
She cursed and quickly stood up. "I can't believe it's already six. Thank you for grabbing the list. I got caught up in the project."
"I knew you'd be a great choice. Have a good night."
Hermione barely heard her as she applied her usual wards on her office and got ready to leave. Draco was going to kill her for being late to his event. If she hurried, she had just enough time to change into a different outfit. Hermione would still be late, but it was better than nothing.
#
The event was in full swing when she arrived. Draco had rented a couple of conference rooms at the new hotel on Diagon Alley. It was a great choice with its classic architecture. The venue would be appealing to both the old and new generations.
Hermione tried to sneak in unnoticed, knowing it was probably a lost cause. As Draco's wife, people would be searching for her. But it was good to be optimistic. Her hopes were dashed when Draco's public relations person approached her.
"Nice of you to show up," Kennedy said.
Kennedy was the type of witch that Narcissa Malfoy would've approved of. She was tall, thin, and everything about her screamed elegance. Though tonight, her heels were a little too tall and the slit of her dress ran a little too high.
Hermione wasn't surprised at the witch's coldness, nor her outfit. She had suspected for some time that Kennedy was trying to seduce her husband. The difficult part was that she was subtle, too subtle for Hermione to bring it up with Draco. And Hermione wasn't sure that she cared enough to cause a fuss about it either.
The thought chilled her to the bone.
"Didn't think you'd notice me with all your attention on Draco," Hermione said. "He's so lucky to have such a… dedicated worker."
"Careful, the press is going to start wondering why you're late."
She rolled her eyes. "I'm sure they have more important things to focus on."
"No, they love a good affair story. It's what sells," Kennedy smirked, reminding her far too much of her husband. Though she lacked Draco's intelligence. No one would be accusing Hermione of an affair; her workaholic tendencies were well known. "PR is my speciality, remember?"
"In that case, maybe you should rethink your wardrobe," Hermione said, relieved to see Harry at the bar. "Because they sure as hell won't be talking about me."
She left before Kennedy could reply. Because Draco was now in full campaign mode, Hermione would be seeing a lot more of the witch. It was just one of the many things that she hated about the whole thing. Hermione was a private person. Unfortunately, her life was to become a lot more public for the foreseeable future.
"Hermione, I was scared you were going to leave me alone at one of these things," Harry said, getting up to hug her.
She relaxed into the familiar embrace before releasing him. Hermione didn't realize how much she needed to see her best friend. Even after all this time, they were still close. He was family. After everything they'd been through together, how could he not be?
"I've missed you. Where's Ginny?"
"Her morning sickness turned into feeling nauseous all day, so she stayed home with James. She's sorry she can't be here."
"I'm sorry too. I feel like I haven't seen you both in forever," Hermione said after ordering her drink.
He chuckled. "It's been a long time. Sometimes I think we need to break into the Department of Mysteries to rescue you from work."
"Wouldn't that be something? Though my boss secretly would love that."
"I'll have to tell Ginny and Ron to start preparing."
Hermione grabbed her drink from the bartender and turned back to Harry when she saw his expression change.
She had never talked to Harry about her marriage troubles, nor did he ever bring it up. But somehow, he knew. Maybe it was the familial bond they shared. They were both orphans in the wizarding world, though the Weasleys had adopted them both. Harry had become a little more guarded around her husband lately.
"Potter, mind if I steal my wife?" Draco said behind her.
"Not at all. Congrats again. I'm sure we'll be celebrating your Minister win before too long," Harry said before excusing himself.
Hermione wanted to tell Harry to stay, but she knew it wasn't a fair thing to ask. There were some battles you had to face alone. Hermione turned around and was surprised at Draco's nearness. She had to tilt her head up to look at him.
"How nice of you to show up," Draco said, wrapping his arms around her. "For a moment there, I thought you were going to stand me up."
"We're not on a date, so I wouldn't be standing you up. I got caught up in work."
He chuckled, though there was no humour in his gaze. That's when she knew that he was being affectionate for the cameras. There was always an ulterior motive these days. "I shouldn't have to send my wife a memo to remind her to attend my campaign events."
"Can we not do this right now?"
"Should I book a meeting with your secretary? Right, I can't visit you at work because you're an Unspeakable. Do you even have a secretary?" he asked. "Don't forget to smile darling, we're in public remember?"
Hermione wanted to leave. It was the same thing every time they saw each other. He was always unhappy about something and he attacked. Lately, it was about her work. Draco had been the one that encouraged her to pursue being an Unspeakable after the war. Funny that he had grown to resent the secrecy that surrounded it.
"I'm not doing this right now," Hermione said, smiling as widely as she could, mocking him.
"Be a dear and kiss me for the cameras. It's time for my speech."
Before she could even think to step away, he kissed her. And for a moment, Hermione forgot about everything. It was just her and her husband, the man she fell in love with. The familiar scent of pine, the way he held her face like she was something precious… but the whistles and flashing cameras brought her right back to the present and she pulled away.
Draco searched her expression for a moment, before turning to the press. Her cheeks felt warm and she wanted desperately to escape into the crowd. But her husband still had an arm around her and she knew that she had to stay. Play the part of the loving wife.
"If you will all join me in the banquet room, we will be serving dinner shortly," Draco said to the crowd. He leaned in towards her and whispered, "For a moment, I actually believed you still loved me."
He walked towards the banquet room leaving her alone. The parade of people followed in his wake, hoping to gain his favour in case he won the election. The same people that had cursed him in the streets five years ago and called him a murderer. Life was funny that way.
His words repeated over and over in her head. For a moment, I actually believed you still loved me.
She did love Draco. She always would. But her husband had become a stranger, a man she barely recognized most of the time.
Was it possible to both love and hate your husband?