The Cruel Tutelage of Hermione

Harry and Luna had a long conversation a couple days later on how to proceed. They were starting to feel in over their heads. They needed to turn to someone for help and advice. With Dumbledore, Sirius, and Remus long gone, Molly disabled and Arthur tied up caring for her, and McGonagall never being the right person for this type of situation, the only answer left for them was Hermione.

A meeting was arranged and they met in her office a few days later. She listened intently, taking things very seriously as they told her what they knew of their dilemma, especially Chennai.

"This situation sounds like you have become intertwined between reality and the dream you talked about," began Hermione, standing up from behind her desk. "Do you remember the time turner I had years ago?"

Harry nodded in the affirmative while Luna looked confused.

"McGonagall gave me a thing called a time turner at the start of my third year at Hogwarts," said Hermione, looking at Luna. "It could let me step back in time up to four or five hours. I used it to go to extra classes...and a couple other things we won't discuss. They aren't important to this conversation."

Harry grinned at her with a knowing expression while staying silent."

"Anyway," Hermione continued, "the time turner let me meddle with time. McGonagall warned me specifically about that. She said to be very careful while using it and never to be seen. 'Terrible things happen to witches and wizards that get caught meddling with time' she told me. Does that make sense, Luna?"

"Yessss. I think I understand. But how does it apply to our issue?"

"Yes. Where are you going with this?" asked Harry, sounding confused.

"I read a lot about time after she gave me the time turner. I was especially interested in why she would give it to me with such an adamant warning. My readings gave me the understanding that time is like an endless rope. We travel along it our whole lives. Our dreams and fantasies are like frayed threads radiating off the main rope...timeline. They will generally weaken and break off...uh, disappear over time. BUT," she said with an emphasis that made Harry and Luna key in on her, "If you were to go back and interact with one of these loose threads, then it could become reconnected to the main timeline and alter the future. I think that is what you did in Chennai, Harry."

Harry and Luna were sitting wide-eyed and unable to speak. Finally, Hermione broke the silence saying, "The real question is how did both of you get wrapped up in this timeline-altering dream world? We need to examine this more deeply."

"We are telling you everything we know," said Harry.

"Yes, we are doing our best. But this is really quite puzzling," agreed Luna.

"Yes. Okay," said Hermione. "We just need to go back to the beginning and walk forward through it. Maybe we can discover something we are missing."

Hermione stepped back and sat down on the front of her desk. Harry and Luna looked at each other wondering how to begin.

"Do you remember when all of this began?" queried Hermione.

"It happened the night before the first challenge of the TriWizard Tournament," said Harry. "I woke up and went down to breakfast. I was stressed out. Luna came up and we chatted. She told me about the strange dream she had the night before. It kind of freaked me out because I had a very similar dream. In the end, we passed it off as a coincidence."

"Yes, I remember we dismissed it. I think I went for a walk to think and relax. I like to do that. I like to find quiet places to do puzzles and sort things out. It is really quite helpful."

I think I did the same thing a bit later...uh...go for a walk to try and calm my nerves. I was envious of Luna being able to do that. I wished I could be more like her and just find a spot to hide out. Then I remember seeing a pair of strange doors. I opened them and went inside. I can't remember anything after...but this doesn't make sense. I know I went to fight the dragon and…"

"...I remember some doors like that, too," interrupted Luna. "I am sure I went through them, but I can't remember anything, either. Curious, don't you think?"

"Very curious, indeed," said Hermione, the look on her face showed she was deep in a jumble of thoughts.

The room sat silent for several moments. Harry and Luna kept looking at each other, then at Hermione, then off into space. No one dared break the silence until Hermione finally jerked back to reality and said, "I have a thought."

"What is it?" Harry and Luna said in unison.

"I think Luna found the Room of Requirement. It constructed this alternate world for her full of killers and mysteries to solve. She fell into it when she entered the room. Then, later, you came along," she said, looking at Harry. "You were having those thoughts about her and a place to hide. The room appeared to you, and you fell in to join her."

"Fascinating," said Luna in a very Luna way. "Exceptionally fascinating."

"Is that possible?" said Harry with an incredulous look.

"I don't know," replied Hermione. "There is only one way to find out."

"What's that?" asked Harry with reservation in his tone.

"We need to go to Hogwarts."

"Are you certain of this?"

"Yes. Do you still have your invisibility cloak?"

"Yeah. Sure. It is at home. I can get it."

"Good. Go get it. Luna and I will go have a cup of tea in the cafeteria."

Oooo. Yessss. A cup of shrivelfig tea sounds wonderful. It is very helpful during that time of the month," mused Luna as Hermione gave her a weird look.

Harry apparated home and unearthed the invisibility cloak from an upstairs closet full of old sheets, blankets and towels. It had been a long time since he had found use for it. It brought back a lot of memories, but none relevant to the current situation.

He arrived back at the Ministry a few minutes later. He found Hermione and Luna in the cafeteria. They were both eating a salad and slurping at bowls of soup.

"We decided we should eat before we go," said Hermione. "It might be a long time before dinner."

"We ordered you a shepherd's pie," said Luna. "They were out of freshwater plimpies. You can try some of my nettle soup while you wait if you want."

"That's okay. I'll wait," he said as he sat down and placed the cloak on the corner of the table.

"So, what is your plan?" asked Harry.

"Well, I am still working on it. We know where the entrance to the room is located. It is just a matter of creating the right request. It is too bad Neville isn't an option. He was always the master of room creation.

Once they finished eating they found a spot to apparate. A moment later they appeared in the basement of Honeyduke's in Hogsmeade. The passages in and out of Hogwarts had been repaired over the years. The One-Eyed Witch passage in the basement of Honeyduke's was always their favorite.

A moment later they were inside the tunnel and making their way along the dank, dark passage to the castle with only the light from their wands to guide them.

"It is extraordinarily stinky in here," said Luna with a little cough.

"Yes. Just like I remember it," noted Harry.

An hour later, Harry said, 'Dissendium' like it had only been a day, not several decades since he had used the passage. The hump on the back of the statue of Gunhilda of Gorsemoor opened and they gained entry into the castle.

"Okay. Everyone under the cloak," said Harry as he shook it open and tossed it over their heads. The three of them gathered together and started the climb to the seventh floor of the castle.

By the time they reached it they were exhausted. It had been a long time since they had to endure the countless stairs of the castle. They were not getting younger, and were not in the same shape as they were back in the day.

"This is the place," panted Harry As he pulled the cloak off of them. "What do we ask to get in."

"I have been thinking about that," said Hermione, also short of breath. "I think I am going to ask for a room that can explain the situations in the dream shared by Harry and Luna."

Harry and Luna looked at each other with puzzled expressions and their heads bobbling about.

"Uh, sure," said Harry. "Then give it a go."

Hermione started walking down the hall. After a moment, she turned back. Once she had passed Harry and Luna, she reversed course and started back the other way. Suddenly, there was a rumbling sound, then the outline of some doors appeared. A moment later the doors to the Room of Requirement were there, waiting for them to enter.

"This seems right," said Harry. "I've seen these doors a lot of times, but I had forgotten them. They are just like in the dream. They have big 'R's on the handles and everything.

"Let's hope the answer is behind them," said Hermione as she reached for the handles.

Hermione turned the handles and pulled the doors open. Inside was table after table stacked with huge, clunky-looking albums. The first two tables sat side-by-side. One was labeled Harry. The other was labeled Luna. After that, all of the tables were labeled Team Haruna with numbers like 5-10, 28-35, 190-196, 1040-1051, 2,467-2,474, etc.

They walked to Luna's table and opened the first book. It detailed her encounter with Jack the Ripper in 1888 London. At the end it was marked FAIL in big, red letters.

"Oh my," said Luna. "I remember it, now. It was dreadful."

They went to Harry's table and opened the top book. "It was a retelling of his encounter with Jack the Ripper in the same 1888 London. It was also marked FAIL.

"They're the same," said Harry.

"No, they aren't the same," said Hermione.

Harry and Luna both looked at her.

"Don't you see it? It is the same event, and you both apparently failed, but the stories are very different up until the very end. Harry discovered the date and his money pouch early on. You," she said, looking at Luna, "never learned the date or about your money pouch. You walked around all day wondering what was going on. You did manage to learn that your wand could do a few things. Harry didn't figure that out. The story only comes together when you both encounter Jack the Ripper and fail to save the woman or capture him."

"Fascinating," said Luna. "We are both in the same story, but our own versions."

"Yes. It would seem that way," agreed Hermione.

Luna walked back to her table and started to read story number two. It was about Chennai. She was more acquainted with it because Harry had gone there and actually met Girija and her family. Harry started reading the same story in his book. Hermione went to a different table and started reading about Frankfurt, Germany and the Hammer Killer, but her reading ability quickly moved her forward through New York and into other encounters.

After a few minutes, Luna exclaimed "OH MY!". The others ran to her.

"What's the matter?" asked Harry.

"My story is marked FAIL. Girija and her family all died."

"But that can't be," said Harry. I went there. I met them. They are very much alive."

The three of them went over to Harry's retelling of Chennai. At the end he saved them. The notation was TIE in big, green letters.

"This proves my theory," said Hermione. "Even though they die in your story," she said, looking at Luna. "they lived in Harry's."

"Yes," cut in Harry. "But both can't be true. That's impossible. How are they alive, instead of dead?"

"It is like I was saying back in my office. These encounters are like loose threads on the natural timeline. Harry, you went back to Chennai. You reconnected your encounter to the timeline. They are living today, because of that. I am afraid that if Luna was to go back, it could disconnect it and her thread where they died would become reality."

"Amazing," said Luna. "I certainly will not go looking for them."

"What are the rest of these?" asked Harry, looking at the stacks of books on the countless other tables.

"I think it is all of your encounters before you found your way back to here."

"There are thousands of them. How long were we in this dream, or whatever it is?"

"Apparently a very long time," was all Hermione could come up with for a reply.

"Why are all of the other tables labeled Team Haruna?" asked Luna.

"I think I was just reading the answer to that," said Hermione, leading them to the table labeled 5-10. She opened the book. It stated that Harry had found Luna in a park in Frankfurt, Germany. You made a vow to work together as a team from thereon forward. The rest of the story was about them encountering a person called The Hammer Killer. It was marked FAIL.

The next story was about Brooklyn, New York. As they started looking at it, Harry and Luna realized it was about the trip they had just made there.

This is about the trip you made to Brooklyn to catch the niffler. Did you ever catch it?" asked Harry.

"Yes, he was exceptionally difficult to trap."

"What are you talking about?" asked Hermione.

"I was on a secret trip to New York to catch a runaway niffler. You should have known about it," said Luna. "The Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures sent me there."

"Yes, actually I do remember that? So how does this involve your dream?"

"I was tracking him in Brooklyn when I found this strange, little shop called The Magic Druid. They had lots of shiny stuff in the windows. I went inside to see if he had been in there. While I was inside looking at all of their cool things I found some stuff?"

"Stuff?" said Hermione. "What kind of stuff, may I ask?"

I found butterbeer cork necklaces like I used to wear and dirigible plum earrings…"

"So…"said Hermione, getting a little impatient with Luna's story.

"Easy," said Harry. "Get to the picture, Luna."

"And there was a picture of me wearing them hanging on the wall from like fifty years ago."

"Nineteen-seventy-five," added Harry. "And the tattoo. Tell her about the tattoo."

"Oh yes, I found out I got my tattoo there...you have seen my tattoo," she said, starting to unbutton her blouse.

"Yes, I have seen your tattoo. I was actually kind of jealous of it at one time," said Hermione, blushing a bit at her admission.

Harry looked at Hermione with raised eyebrows. "Really. Hermione Granger with a tattoo?"

"Oh, Shut up!"

Harry started laughing, then Hermione, finally Luna joined in a well-needed laugh.

After the pleasant laugh break calmed down Hermione said, "Now, what is the story with the tattoo?

"They had books of every tattoo they ever did in the back of the store. They got them out and mine was in there with the notation Luna - 12/23/75. We all kind of freaked out. That's more than five years before I was born."

"What about the murder in this story? It is marked TIE in the book. But the murder. What happened with it this time?

"Actually, we never got into that," said Harry. We used the auror charm to make them forget we ever came to the store. After that we went up to a restaurant in the Bronx and ate. It was the same one where we ate back in 1975. It was a bit weird when we realized that, and that we were eating the same meal. But I don't think anything important happened there other than that. Then we went to Luna's hotel. We heard a song in a cab and it reminded us of Jamaica. We talked a bunch about going to Jamaica the next morning. We felt like something happened there. We obviously couldn't go then. So I went back to London."

"So, you did eventually go to Jamaica? I remember you mentioning Jamaica earlier, but you didn't give me any of the details."

"Yes. I was getting to that. Actually Ginny, Luna, Rolf and I all went. It was a vacation. We figured we could have some fun while investigating things."

"Tell me about your vacation, then," asked Hermione.

"Well, let's see," said Harry, glancing at Luna. "Help me out, Luna."

"Okay," she said with a smile. "You start."

"We arrived by portkey. The first three days and nights were at a place called the Jamaica Inn in Ocho Rios. We did a lot of sightseeing and general relaxing. Ginny got a bit of a sunburn. I made a potion with dittany and aloe. That's about it for us."

"Rolf and I relaxed a lot. We went hunting for a Rolling Calf…"

"...Rolling Calf?" interrupted Hermione.

"It's a magical creature native to Jamaica. Big horns. Fire comes out of its eyes. We didn't find one there. We did swim with sharks and dolphins, and we swam in a lagoon that glowed in the dark. It was exceptionally exhilarating. I'll show you the pictures."

"Okay, later," said Hermione. "So, continue with the vacation.

The next three days were at the Strawberry Hill Resort" said Harry, a big smile filling his face as he remembered it. "It is a beautiful place up in the mountains overlooking Kingston and the Caribbean. It is very famous among muggle celebrities. Ginny had a great time, and so did I."

"Rolf and I saw a Rolling Calf one night. It was quite frightening," her voice showing she was still scared by the encounter.

"Does any of this have anything to do with your dream?" asked Hermione, sensing it did not.

"No," confirmed Harry. "But this next part does."

"Go on, then," urged Hermione.

"Rolf slept in the next morning because he had been up all night. Ginny opted for a spa day. Luna and I went down to Kingston to look around. Ginny was glad to get rid of me, actually."

"Imagine that," smirked Hermione.

Harry gave her a look with the 'really' eyes.

"We looked at stuff and ate some street food, bought some souvenirs."

"I bought a very cool hat," said Luna. "I should have bought one for you, too."

"Thanks," said Hermione.

"We went walking and ended up at the Bob Marley Museum, he was a famous muggle music star." said Harry. "That is when we ran into the dream. We took the tour. It was great..."

...exceptionally fascinating," confirmed Luna with a smile.

"After the tour, we were resting under a mango tree. Some men came out and joined us. Two of them were his sons. They are music stars, now. They started singing and smoking ganja."

"Ganja?"

"I guess you probably know it as marijuana. Pretty soon, everyone is very stoned."

"You, too," asked Hermione with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, all of us," said Luna. "It made us feel uncommonly happy and relaxed."

"Well…okay, I guess," said Hermione, pursing her lips. "If you say so. Now, where is the part about your dream?

"The men, they started playing a song. It goes, 'don't worry about a thing. Every little thing is going to be all right. We had heard that song before in New York. That was what reminded us of Jamaica. Then, hearing it there, we realized we had met that Bob Marley when we were there in the dream. We smoked ganja with him and watched his band perform a concert. Then we started thinking about the murder happening afterwards and got scared and went back to Strawberry Hill.

"Nothing else happened that night? You didn't see the murder or do anything else?

"No," said Harry, looking over at Luna. "No, we just went back to the resort and watched the sunset with Ginny while Rolf was off hunting. The next day we went to the Beaches Resort in Negril. It was two days of super luxury relaxation. Nothing about the dream. Then we came back to London and came to see you."

"This is all very fascinating," said Hermione. "I think I need a day or two to think about all of it. Come back in two days and we'll see if we can finish sorting it all out."

"Okay," said Harry.

Luna, who had also started to agree, suddenly screamed 'OH NO!' and fell on her knees. She had been reading in one of the books on her personal table while they talked. By the time they got to her, she was sobbing inconsolably. "I remember. It's horrible," she blubbered.

Harry and Hermione looked at the page. It was marked FAIL in big red letters. As they started to read it, Harry jumped away and ran to his book for the same event. It was about London in April, 2006. It was the encounter where he saw Hermione killed. It also had a big, red FAIL at the end of the story.

By now, Hermione had read the account of the event in Luna's book. She looked terrified and sick, like she was about to vomit. Hermione looked at Harry and saw his face. She knew his book was also marked FAIL, as well. "I was pregnant with Rose then," she choked and started to collapse as Harry ran to catch her.

After several minutes they started to regain their composure. "It obvious isn't reality," said Hermione. "I'm here. I'm alive."

"But it could happen if we mess up and reconnect the thread. Right? It happened here in London," said Harry. "Chances to screw up are all around us. What can we do?"

Luna was still on her knees, visibly shaken. "Yes. What can we do?"

"We just need to relax. Go home, like I said. Come back in two days. We'll figure this out then."