DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: How's everyone? I hope you are all safe and healthy. We're still under home quarantine. Let's pray and hope that this will end. The coronavirus, I mean.
Recovered patients in my country: 17
Deaths: 25
Please pray for the Philippines.
.
Chapter 10:
July 27, 1995
(the present)
"Good morning, Headmaster, Severus," she greeted them as the two wizards enter the study.
"Good morning, Miss Granger. I hope you are feeling well?" The headmaster gave her a fatherly smile.
"I am well, Headmaster," she replied honestly. "How's Harry?"
"Safe and cheerful with his godfather and the Weasleys. Although, according to Sirius, he was anxious about his hearing on Monday."
"Did he ask for me?" She suddenly felt a pang of pain for her best friend. How could she face him again after learning that he was a living Horcrux?
"He did. But we told him that there was a family emergency."
She nodded. "Thank you, Sir." Then, she turned to Severus. He ditched his heavy clothes this time, only dressed in a short-sleeved button-down black shirt and black trousers. He did not bother to hide the Dark Mark. His shoulder-length hair was parted to the side, and he was sporting a five-o'clock shadow. Hermione tried her best not to hold her breath at the attractive wizard.
"Is Leo still sleeping?" she asked bashfully, looking at the fireplace to her left, instead of meeting his eyes.
There were only two bedrooms in the house. Eileen went home last night after her family left - Hermione had no idea where she lived. Leo wanted his Dada to read to him before bedtime, so Severus was very kind to offer Hermione his bedroom while he spent the night in Leo's room. Hermione could still vividly remember the scent she inhaled last night - a mixture of sandalwood and vanilla (her scent) - on Severus's pillow. Despite being comfortable in Severus's room, she found it hard to sleep because of the events the previous day, so she memorized every detail of the wizard's room: a queen-sized bed in the middle, a large window on the left with the overlooking view of the potions garden, a dresser, a wardrobe, two bookshelves, and a chaise. She wondered how long Severus Snape had been living in the house, and if Hermione Puckle ever stayed there before.
"Yes, still sleeping," he replied with a small smile. "Have you had breakfast already?"
She nodded. "Had cayenne pepper tea and biscuits. I'll eat more later. I want to start as soon as possible."
"I understand," he nodded and turned to the headmaster. "Then, we shall begin."
She took the vial with the label 'June 1997' and poured the contents on the marble basin. The three of them dived into the Pensieve again.
Hermione soon found her Memory-self banging the Potions Master's office door.
"Professor Snape! Death Eaters in the castle!" she panted.
Memory-Severus pulled her inside the office and held her hands, the worry was all over his face. "Professor Flitwick has been poisoned and is unconscious in my bed. Look after him and stay here. Please," he said calmly, his eyes never leaving hers.
Memory-Hermione looked confused at first, then nodded in understanding. "Of course, Professor."
Then, suddenly, Memory-Severus held her by the shoulders and planted a very light kiss on her forehead. "Be safe, Hermione." His eyes were closed and his face looked pained. Then, he quickly pulled away and left the office. Hermione searched the room only to find out that she was alone. Professor Flitwick was not in the rooms and she could not get out to help because the door was heavily warded.
Visiting-Hermione gasped in shock and even cursed silently. She felt Severus's comforting hand on her shoulder.
The next scene was in the Hogwarts infirmary.
Bill Weasley was unconsciously lying on a hospital bed, surrounded by his family and some Order members.
"Dumbledore's dead," declared Harry. His face was unreadable.
Hermione gasped. Her eyes were red and she looked like a mess. It looked like she had been crying for a while now. Remus Lupin was giving him a brotherly hug.
"Mate, you don't know that," whispered Ron whose face turned white as a ghost.
"He's dead. Snape killed him. I saw it," Harry said blankly.
Hermione sobbed but faced her friend. "I'm sorry, Harry. I went to his office to tell him about the Death Eaters in the castle, but he locked me there."
"It's not your fault, Hermione," replied Harry sincerely who reached out for her for a hug.
"Yeah, Mione," comforted Ron who joined the two of them. His eyes were puffy as well. "We're glad you're safe and unscathed."
The Visiting Trio watched Hermione's memory of the fallen headmaster's funeral. Hermione saw that Professor Dumbledore's face was not calm. He looked sad... and regretful. She turned to Severus and was met by his obsidian eyes. Her eyes became glassy at the sight of the funeral and Harry telling everyone that Severus Snape killed the headmaster because Draco Malfoy could not do it. She felt so sorry for the man beside her. What if her future self did not send Leo back in time? Severus would be accused of being a murderer. Without thinking, Hermione wrapped an arm around Severus's waist and rested her head on his chest. Severus continued holding her and planted a kiss on the crown of her head.
"I'm not coming back next year," Harry informed his two friends. they stayed by the lake after the funeral.
Hermione bit her lip and met Harry's eyes. "Of course. Now that the only wizard Voldemort ever feared is gone, he will take over Hogwarts."
"And Dumbledore's left you a task," quipped Ron.
"I'm not going back, either," she confessed.
Hermione's two best friends gave her questioning looks.
"Oh, come on! Muggleborns will not be welcomed next year and I wouldn't be surprised if Snape will be named the new headmaster. Voldemort will reward him, for sure." There was bitterness in her voice.
"I'm sorry," she whispered to Severus.
Severus looked down to meet her eyes and shook his head slowly. "Don't be."
"Are you leaving the country with your parents?" asked Ron.
She shook her head. "Professor Dumbledore sent my parents and grandparents away. I can't tell you where." Then, she turned to Harry. "I'll go with you. I'll help you."
Harry looked scandalized. "You can't, Hermione! It's going to be very dangerous if you go with me!"
"Harry, Professor Dumbledore sent my family away because I'm supposed to help you."
Harry looked taken aback. "I'll go with you, as well," Ron announced.
Harry frowned. "No, Ron. Your family - "
"Are already in danger of being blood traitors," he finished for Harry. "I'm not going to sit at home and wait for news. I cannot go back next year as well because being one of your best friends, they will torture me for information. That's for sure."
"He's right, Harry. Honestly, we've been doing this for six years now. Why do we have to part ways this time?" said Hermione.
Harry gave them a defeated look.
The scene changed. They found themselves outside a tent beside the Burrow, the Weasley residence. They heard music and people were chattering inside the tent, and later on, realized that it was the wedding celebration of Bill Weasley and...
"Fleur Delacour?" she asked no one, but Severus replied.
"Yes."
They noticed Memory-Hermione outside the tent, wearing a sleeveless red cocktail dress and a pair of red open-toe heeled shoes. Her hair was tamed and formed beautiful ringlets. She was clutching a small, purple beaded bag on her left hand.
Visiting-Hermione smiled at the beautiful transformation of her older self.
"Hermione?"
Hermione turned around and saw Ginny approaching. The redhead witch was wearing a silver bridesmaid's dress and she looked beautiful as well, even with just a light make-up.
"Hey, Ginny."
"Viktor's been looking for you. He wants to dance with you," said Ginny.
Hermione offered the redhead a small smile. "I'm not in the mood for dancing."
"I noticed. What's troubling you?"
Hermione eyed the other witch intently. "You know that we're leaving, right? Me, Harry, and Ron?" she whispered.
Ginny nodded with a sad look on her face. "Harry and I talked earlier. So, you don't know how long you'll be gone? And you can't tell me what Dumbledore wanted you to do?"
Hermione shook her head. "I haven't any clue. It still puzzles me why Professor Dumbledore would leave me a book - a children's storybook!"
"The 'Tales of Beedle the Bard'. Maybe there are clues... Maybe you just have to check the book using revealing charms."
She shrugged. "Maybe. I've spent three years in Ancient Runes translating the entire book, so I am familiar with the stories. I am sure that the answer to our questions about the task could not be found in any of the stories."
Suddenly, a blue-silver light appeared from the darkness in front of the two witches. The light formed into a four-legged animal, similar to a cat.
"A Patronus," Hermione whispered nervously.
"A lynx?"
The two witches followed the lynx inside the tent. Then, they heard a male voice.
*"The Ministry has fallen. The Minister for Magic is dead. They are coming..."
Hermione immediately let go of Ginny's hand and looked around. "Harry! Ron!"
"Hermione!" the two young wizards called together. Hermione reached for the two of them and they Apparated away.
The scene changed. Hermione, Severus, and Professor found themselves at the kitchen of Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place.
Hermione and Ron were sitting at the kitchen table across from each other. A Daily Prophet newspaper was lying in front of them. Hermione was staring at the smirking and moving picture of Dolores Umbridge.
Ron reached for her hand. "Hermione, don't worry too much. Everything will be all right tomorrow."
Hermione shook her head. "Is Harry asleep already?" she asked.
Ron nodded slowly. "The last time I checked, yes."
Hermione sighed. "I'm scared, Ron. The last time we went to the Ministry, almost all of us were injured and Sirius died," she said rather emotionally.
"I know. I'm scared, too, Mione. But not of facing Umbridge, or any Death Eaters. I'm scared of seeing my family out there. What if they were being tortured secretly because they are blood traitors? I don't know if I can help myself from focusing on the task at hand if I see Dad being hurt..."
"Then, you have to help him. Go to your family and leave us," she said with encouragement. "I will do the same. If I saw your dad, I will help him. You and Harry go on without me."
"Hermione, you can't leave Harry. You're the brightest among us three and without you, Harry would never make it."
Hermione frowned. "Ron, don't say that," she chided. "Harry is - "
"Is the Chosen One. The Boy Who Lived," Ron supplied, but not in a rude way. "But Dumbledore did not leave him enough clues; did not even teach him Occlumency. Neither of us was taught Occlumency. What if the Death Eaters captured us the night of Bill's wedding? What if they tortured us for information? How are we supposed to keep the fact that we're hunting Horcruxes? I mean, yeah, Dumbledore's a great man, but what was he thinking, sending Harry to a death march?"
Hermione did her best not to look at the headmaster, causing her to grip Severus's waist and sniffed. They were still holding each other, so Severus ran a hand in her hair.
"And tomorrow, we're just after one Horcrux," Hermione almost whispered. "How many more are there?"
Ron shook his head and sighed, looking tired. "We better sleep. We have to be early tomorrow."
Hermione nodded and followed Ron to the drawing-room where Harry was already sleeping on a cot. Hermione took the couch and Ron took the other cot beside Harry.
"This is insane, Albus," sneered Severus.
The headmaster, Hermione saw when she pulled back, gave Severus a sad look.
"Let's keep watching," she said softly, squeezing Severus's arm.
The next scene was in a courtroom. They watched Umbridge interrogate a Muggle-born witch with Dementors above them. A Ministry employee by the name of Albert Runcorn suddenly cast the Patronus Charm. A woman with pale skin behind Umbridge stunned the latter and grabbed the locket around the vile woman's neck. Then, Albert Runcorn transformed into Harry Potter. The woman behind Umbridge turned into Hermione and the husband of the witch being questioned turned into Ron. Harry, Ron, and Hermione cast the Gemino Charm on the locket before taking the original with them. They ran in the Ministry corridors, firing spells at the Ministry employees chasing them.
Hermione, Harry, and Ron managed to make it to the Apparition point, but a dour-looking wizard with long blonde hair trailed after them and took hold of Hermione's leg.
"Corban Yaxley, a Death Eater," whispered Severus, looking at the wizard in the memory.
In the next scene, they saw Hermione, Harry, and Ron in a forest, still wearing their attire from the Ministry. Ron was screaming in pain, Harry was shouting at Hermione.
"What the fuck did you do, Hermione? Why is Ron splinched?" Harry was yelling at Hermione who was muttering incantations, waving her wand around the place.
"Be quiet for now, Harry!" she snapped.
Harry did not oblige. Instead, he went to her side angrily. "You have to fix Ron! He's in pain, don't you see?"
Hermione's face looked pained, but she did not stop what she was doing. Afterward, when she was done, she picked up her beaded that was lying on the ground.
"What a hotheaded brat. Just like his mother," sneered Severus, causing Hermione to look at him with a frown, but he did not say anything to explain.
"Accio Dittany!"
She wordlessly healed Ron's bleeding upper arm. When Ron stopped shouting, Hermione summoned the tent in the bag and set it up, before levitating Ron to a cot.
Harry was now calm and looking at Hermione with embarrassment. "I'm sorry for shouting at you, Hermione."
Hermione did not meet Harry's eyes. She handed him the locket. "Just destroy this, will you?" she asked quietly before tending to Ron once more.
"Oh, gods!" she gasped. "That was terrible." She felt like crying and she even covered her mouth with her hand, because she was so shocked at how the other Harry had treated her older self.
Severus pulled her close to him and she allowed him, partly burying her face to his chest.
They saw the next events. Hermione, Harry, and Ron lived in the tent but moved from one place to another. Mostly to forests. Ron's recovery from the splinching was slow. Hermione cried silently when she saw her older self arguing with Harry and Ron because of a lack of food and they could not destroy the Horcrux. Hermione saw Ron left the two of them and after that.
She saw her older self and Harry almost died at the Godric's Hollow because of Voldemort's snake, Nagini.
She saw her other self crying over Harry's injured body while healing him.
She saw her other self, being awakened by Harry one morning, with Ron behind him and they told her about seeing a Patronus with the form of an otter, so similar to Hermione's, and how it led them to the lake where the Sword of Gryffindor was hidden.
Visiting-Hermione looked up to Severus when she heard about the otter and he smiled back. It wasn't a wide smile, but it was sincere.
They listened when Harry told Memory-Hermione that Ron destroyed the Slytherin locket with the Sword of Gryffindor.
Hermione did not notice that they were back in the study and she was being led to a settee by Severus.
Headmaster Dumbledore sat in a wingback chair, looking tired and thinking deeply.
"Albus, I take it that you have the Sword of Gryffindor in your office?" asked Severus quietly.
"I do, my boy," replied the headmaster. He sounded tired, too.
"The locket is still in Black's house. I have noticed it in the drawing-room during our meeting, the day Hermione arrived there."
Hermione looked up at Severus. "Really? It was there?"
Severus nodded. "I hope it's still there."
"I shall return to the headquarters this afternoon and collect the locket," the headmaster promised. Then, he turned to her. "Miss Granger... Hermione. Those things might've happened in the alternate future, but still, allow me to apologize. That was very wrong of me to send three teenagers to a mission without giving enough information."
Hermione offered the headmaster a small smile. "That was in the other time, Sir. Just promise that you won't die this time." She sent Severus a pained look before looking down.
Severus, who was standing beside her settee, placed a hand on her shoulder. "I won't let him die this time, Hermione. Let's have lunch. I confess myself famished. But I want to check on Leo first."
The three of them left the study. The headmaster walked straight to the kitchen where Eileen was preparing steak and kidney pie, by the smell of it.
She and Severus walked down the stairs side-by-side. They found Leo in the living room. He was sitting on the rug and leaning on the coffee table.
"Hello, Leo," she greeted affectionately.
The boy's back was on her, but the moment he heard her, Leo turned around. "Mummy!" He looked behind her. "Dada!"
Hermione felt Severus move behind her. "Hello, Leo," he greeted. "What are you doing?"
"Drawing, Dada," he replied and turned his back on them once more to continue what he was doing.
Hermione sat on the sofa, her eyes were one the little boy.
"Do you mind if I sit beside you?" asked Severus in a low voice.
Hermione's heart skipped a bit at the sound of his voice and when she inhaled his scent: sandalwood. She felt her cheeks blush. "I don't mind," she whispered.
Severus sat beside her rather too closely. Then, he placed an arm on the back of the sofa, just behind her shoulders.
Hermione wanted to enjoy the feeling. After last night's events, she didn't feel confused nor guilty anymore whenever she would think of her Potions master. They were best friends. They grew up together. Technically, she was thirty-five years old and once she took the potion from the future, she would remember everything.
So what's stopping you from enjoying the feeling of him beside you? a part of her mind asked.
Nothing. So, she summoned her Gryffindor bravery and rested her head on his shoulder. "Do you mind?" she asked, looking up to him.
His lips formed a smile as he met her eyes. He also placed his arm around her shoulder. "Not at all, my dear."
Hermione blushed and her heart jumped at the endearment. She looked away to hide her reddening cheeks and turned to Leo instead. "What do you have there, Leo?" she asked fondly.
Leo looked up and showed the parchment. "It's Hogwarts, Mummy."
Hermione frowned at the drawing. Leo used a black crayon to draw the castle. It wasn't a perfect shape of a castle, but it was Hogwarts she was sure.
"What's that thing above the castle, honey?" she asked curiously.
"Unca Harry said it's the Dark Mark," he replied casually. Hermione turned to Severus and they exchanged worried looks.
He went towards Leo to see the drawing. "What's this, son?" he asked carefully.
"Hogwarts. You were there, Dada. Teddy said you're fighting bad people. I saw the snake eating the castle when Mummy walked me to Forbidden Forest."
"Why did you walk to the Forbidden Forest with your mother?" asked Severus slowly. "Why weren't you at home?"
Leo frowned. "You said we can't go home, Dada. Mummy and I went to the cave near the Hogsmeade mountains. We stayed there and I got sick."
Hermione went to the boy's side and sat on the floor. She ran a comforting hand in his curls. "Don't worry, honey. That will not happen again. We're safe here at home."
Leo looked up to her hopefully. "Really, Mummy?"
She smiled and nodded. "Dada will keep us safe. And Mr. Dumbledore, too."
Leo smiled and turned to Severus. He hugged his father's leg. "Thank you, Dada."
Severus looked down at the boy affectionately and ruffled his hair. "You're welcome, Leo. Thank you for being here."
