Chapter 31

"Well ok then" Hermione said.

"From what I have managed to research myself, and the information contained in your journals." Hermione began looking at Regulus.

"You all died on or around the same night. Dad, I mean Regulus, you had been looking after Harry in the trunk, your journal said Harry loved it in there for some reason. Lily was in the Kitchen making dinner, James had gone to the shop, and Sirius was working as an Auror. I believe Remus was somewhere in the house too. Apparently you had a plan in place to stop what happened last time happening." Hermione looked around the room.

"Yes, who ever is actually with Harry is to make their way here to the Grangers if something bad happens" Lily said matter of factly.

"Yes that was the information I found in the Journal. So Dad was with Harry in the trunk, the trunk was in the kitchen and disillusioned, but the lid was open so you could see where it was. Sirius sent a Patronus message saying that Death eaters were coming and to hide, but it was too late, the front door was blasted open, Lily slammed the lid of the trunk shut so it couldn't be seen. Dad had written that she said stick to the plan right before it closed. There was a fight. And then it went quiet. James came home and found Lily and Remus dead, Dad came out of the Trunk with Harry and James was no where to be seen. There was a packed emergency bag in the cupboard under the stairs so you got that and left with Harry for here, I assume." Hermione paused to make sure everyone was keeping up.

The room was one again filled with emotion, it was worse than Peter s betrayal in a way even when that was still so fresh in their minds.

"When you arrived here" Hermione addressed Regulus again. You found Helen and Richard dead in the hallway, but you could hear me crying upstairs. You made your way to my room and found my aunt who was living here, with her wand pointed at the door defending me, you had recently begun a relationship so you followed the plan together and made your way to a muggle hotel. After a week neither James nor Sirius contacted you. Louisa made her way to diagon alley to pick up more supplied and came across a Daily Prophet article asking for information on the whereabouts of Harry Potter and detailing the demise of his father and Godfather at the hand of the same death eaters who had attacked the house. You knew that you had to leave the country, Regulus was already in hiding, and the country was searching for the Harry. So you brought us all to live with you in New York. And that's where we lived." Hermione finished.

Everyone in the room looked shell shocked by the story Hermione had told. Hermione herself was shocked that they had all believed her so readily.

"I came back so that we could change that. I arrived in this time line the day after the original Hermione arrived. I didn't want to risk messing up the timeline that she had created, so I decided to stay where I was and did the spell at home in New York." Hermione said smiling at Louisa.

Realising it was her turn to tell her version of events leading up to today, Louisa got up off the sofa and stood next to Hermione.

"It was quite a shock I can tell you, I was in my study at my parents house, when this girl arrived out of the blue. There were wards place of course so apparition should not have been possible, and here she is appearing out of thin air. When she saw me she threw her arms around me, and I was frozen in place. I didn't know what to do. We are trained to anticipate attacks of violence not hugging!" Louisa laughed.

"She tells me some fanciful notion that she is my niece who was born the day before, to a sister I didn't even know about, well it took a bit of convincing." Louisa continued.

"How did she convince you?" Sirius asked.

"She performed a family tracing spell, she placed a top of blood on a bit of parchment and it spread out into her family tree. Which obviously was very similar to mine. She told me that I wasn't supposed to find out about Helen for another year, but it was necessary to speed up the process, so I wrote to her. It was just after little Hermione was born. When came for a visit last week it was to get some travel documents sorted out for Hermione."

"Travel documents?" Remus asked

"Yes, she obviously can stay as Hermione Granger-Black in this timeline, too many questions, too many people still after Regulus, not to mention too many Blacks still about." Louisa chuckled.

"So you got fake identity documents?" Sirius asked impressed

"No of course not that's illegal." Louisa smirked with a wink.

"And err they are actually not fake." Hermione interjected.

"Course not Love" Sirius said with a smug grin "Don't worry your secret's safe with me"

"No they are really not fake, black market, and totally illegal but surprisingly not fake" Louisa smiled.

"So what's your not fake name then?" Sirius challenged

"Amelia Winters who is a halfblood witch from Chicago, but she has a British muggle mother. All I did was apply for a portkey for Amelia here" Louisa said smugly "and while I was there I transferred her papers to the British Ministry."

"See not fake" Hermione grinned

James laughed

"I like her, I'm glad to finally meet you, and you were wrong before. You might not have been the Hermione we knew about, but you did save us, it just hasn't happened yet" James Said.

"We've got some time right?" Remus asked "you said you were 2 when everything happens, right? So we've got some time to stop it, or prevent it? You're only 1 at the moment, well not you, but little you"

"It might be easier to just call me Amelia." Hermione said

"Agreed" Remus laughed

"And yes, it's Halloween 1981 that the attack happens so there is time." Amelia said

Lily gasped, just as Harry stared in his Pram.

"Halloween?" James asked

"Yes, that's why I knew I had to come back, something went wrong, old Hermione altered the events but didn't change them, I have more knowledge about Voldemort than she had. We can stop it. We can fix it." Amelia said passionately.

"You said we were killed by Death Eaters, is that right?" Regulus spoke up for the first time.

"Yes" Amelia said

"What year was that?" He asked

"1996" Amelia said quietly.

"Voldemort is still around in 1996?" Sirius gasped.

"Yes"

"How is he still around then?" Lily asked.

"Well one thing Old Hermione changed for the better was that Harry was not the chosen one, but without Pettigrew to pass him information about Harry and the Potters, Voldemort focused on another boy, there was 2 born around the same time." Amelia said

"Neville, oh Alice and Frank!" Lily gasped with tears streaming down her face.

"Well once the other family had been killed it seems that Voldemort didn't want to take any chances and came after you all as well. In the aftermath of such horrific attacks, he managed to infiltrate the Ministry. Once he was officially in power there was no one strong enough to bring him down." Amelia said

"So what makes you think we can change things this time?" Remus asked harshly.

Amelia flinched at the tone of his voice and Regulus and Sirius both stood up ready to defend her. They knew Remus would never harm her, but instincts took over, Regulus had felt a growing need to protect the daughter he had raised in the future, and Sirius wasn't ready to examine his reasons quite yet but the were stronger than he ever thought was possible for having just met the woman.

Remus held his hands up and looked apologetically at Amelia, who smiled at him in understanding.

"I know I can change things this time because I have inside knowledge that Hermione didn't have, a man he was around the same age as you, you know before," Amelia said addressing Regulus "who found out I was researching Voldemort before I left and was tasked with finding me. He was a death eater but he had defected in secret, he helped me." Amelia said.

"Who was it? Did you know is name?" Regulus asked

"Yes it was Severus Snape" Amelia said

Lily gasped and Regulus smiled.

"Bloody Snape! You can't trust that git!" Sirius shouted.

"Sirius!" Lily shouted louder.

"What, he's a bloody git and you know it!" Sirius argued.

"Don't you think that nearly 20 years might change someone? Even if he is a git now?" Amelia said sharply. She had come to respect Severus. He was surly and slightly cold but she knew why.

Sirius said nothing but huffed as he sat down.

"On my last night in London just before I went back to come here, he found out why I was doing my research, he begged me to make it work, to do anything I could to save you all. He wrote a letter, for me to bring with me, I am to send it to his younger self, he has assured me that it's contents will convince him to aid us, and without his help we will be lost." Amelia said passionately.

"Fine" Sirius said petulantly.

Amelia saw remus grimace and Lily pat James' leg comfortingly, apparently Mr Snape was not a popular figure amongst the group. The only one who seemed happy was her Regulus.

It was so strange being around him and having him not know her. She remembered countless times in their study at their home in New York, how he would be working while she would be curled up with a book in the armchair across from him, the scratching of his quill was comforting to her. But she was alone now.

A shrill cry came from upstairs indicating that Hermione was awake. Helen made her way down the starts with Hermione in her arms, it was obvious that Helen had been crying.

"I'll put some tea on" Helen said as she passed the lounge.

"I'll help you" Lily said jumping up to follow her.

"Helen, I wanted to say I'm sorry, we sort you out because of Hermione, but you really have become my best friend, and I can't imagine my life with out you in it." Lily said tearfully.

"It was all just a bit much, I learned that my best friend and my sister only wanted to be part of my life because of my daughter, it was overwhelming.' Helen said

"I understand, I'm so sorry.' Lily said

"It's fine really, I've had some time to think. I understand really I do. I would have done the same thing your shoes" Helen smiled.

A/N: Let me know what you think :)