A/N: Thank you for all of the reviews so far! I have only just started posting this and the feedback has been so overwhelmingly positive !
Shout out to reviewer 09sasha! She pointed out that I did make a mistake in my last chapter and forgot to mention Hermione grabbing the newspaper clippings. I will return to edit that chapter in future, however for now, just know that she snatched them up before getting to the mirror.
This is a longer chapter, a lot of it is from the book, but this chapter and next is a lot of recounting her journey to everyone. Bear with me and then we get into our carefree fun Marauder time!
"Hello Professor Dumbledore, my name is Hermione Granger."
Hermione stepped in out the door, greeting the blue eyed, silver haired and bearded man sitting behind his desk. He had looked up from his with an uncharacteristic look of surprise, not an expression many have said they have witnessed on this particular wizards face. She stood awkwardly by the door she exited from and waited for the man to give her his trust or force Veritaserum down her throat or legilimency on her mind.
"Good evening Miss Granger, due to the space you have just come from I can only assume the worst had happened and the Dark has won" Dumbledore said after finally regaining his composure. The twinkle was gone from his bright blue eyes at the understanding of her presence. A sigh of relief, she was too tired to attempt to protect her mind, as much as that would speed up retelling her story, sharing her very broken, exhausted mind was not in her top list of things to do today.
"Yes, I have only just come from the Final Battle. Voldemort is dead, but the Light is too. Death Eaters will take over and destroy everything" she cried, sitting gently on the chair in front of his desk, "My first task is to tell you everything I know. No matter the rules of meddling in time. It goes against everything I understand about time travel, but the my time line is not worth it for anyone. Betrayal ran deeper than any of us knew, I am to prevent that,"
"I understand. I made that portal for only one reason. The fact you are only coming from the Final Battle and you are not a woman I recognize currently, so you are not enrolled in Hogwarts meaning it is at least 7 years from now" he stated, his hands clasped thoughtfully in front of his face.
"More than 7. I come from 1998," his eyes widened at this revelation.
"28 years? We have been fighting Voldemort for nearly 3 decades?" All colour had left his face
"Technically no. I come from the Second Wizarding War. He will be delayed for years starting Halloween 1981. To understand how we won, we must start at his beginning, and the betrayal that I know of. There is so much I don't know about this time, I came with clippings of people we can save, but not all can be due to their destiny I guess? I have been warned to not let guilt overtake me if I cannot save everyone," Dumbledore nodded in understanding, not all could be saved, some were for the greater good as much as it pained him to use that phrase from his old friend Grindlewald.
"First I will tell you, you will have a traitor in your ranks. Peter Pettigrew, if he is not currently part of the Order, do not allow him,"
Dumbledore's eyebrows rose and he leaned forward in his chair and rested his elbows on the desk
"Peter Pettigrew? You are sure, he is best friends with some of the greatest wizards currently attending, all future fighters of Light, all have expressed true desire to join the Order, which I am sure you still have running in your time?"
"Yes I am sure, and yes it was still running in my time. My time line starts like this, please no interruptions and I will answer everything after, this will be hard for me to explain as a lot of it is not all of my story, it is the story of the Chosen One," if Dumbledore was shocked at news of a chosen one, he did not show it, he simply nodded in understanding and gestured for her to continue.
"Late in 1980, James and Lily Potter were placed into hiding under the Fidilius Charm for protection after a prophecy was made. From Trelwaney to yourself during a job interview, the prophecy was;
'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies...'
"Now this prophecy was overheard by a Death Eater, Severus Snape, who went to Lord Voldemort and told him, however, he only heard the start that a child who could defeat him would be born.
"Two babies were born late July 1980, one to James and Lily Potter, and one to Frank and Alice Longbottom. Voldemort chose the half blood over the pureblood as he himself is half. He hunted for them consistently but could never find them as they were under the Fidelius charm. He could stand in front of their window and never find them, unless the Secret Keeper told him. Now, anyone who knows James Potter knows that Sirius Black would be his choice. They were like brothers, best friends, would die for each other, and Sirius was Harry Potter's godfather.
"Sirius knew he was the obvious choice, he knew they would hunt him down and kill him. He was understood the dangers, happily accepted them for his family. But that wouldn't keep his true family safe, the people he chose, not his despicable Black family, so he suggested they make Peter the Secret Keeper. No one would guess that Peter would be who they turned to, yes he was a Marauder but he was the friend who tailed behind, worshipped them. But a friend that is only friends with you for your power? What happens when someone stronger comes along? Promises you everything? Well you give him the greatest gift of all. You give him what he's been searching for. You give him the Potters.
"So, being the overly dramatic person that Lord Voldemort is, he chose Halloween night to attack. James, Lily and Harry were sitting happily in their home when they felt the wards shift. James sent Lily and Harry upstairs, promising to hold him off long enough, but he had no wand. However, the brave man that James Potter was stood in front of the most evil man, wandless, and refused to move aside to protect his family. Voldemort laughed and killed James without a second thought, he stepped over his body and made his way upstairs. Lily was standing in front of Harry's crib, blocking him from Voldemorts sight. He offered her her life, told her to move aside, give up her son to save herself. Lily being the selfless and kind woman that she was, it grew tenfold for Harry, she refused to give up her baby. She sacrificed herself, when the green light hit her she fell instantly, but her death created a barrier. Her love was so strong that when Voldemort threw the curse at Harry it rebounded and hit him instead. Nothing was left behind of him, the roof exploded and Harry was left crying in the ruins with his dead parents, and a lightning scar on his forehead.
"Sirius Black showed up later to find Rubeus Hagrid holding a crying Harry and he offered to look after him, but Hagrid had orders, from you, to take Harry to his Aunt and Uncle, the Dursely's. Sirius gave him his motorbike saying he didn't need it and left. 3 weekslater he was caught by the Ministry after supposedly blowing up Peter Pettigrew and 12 muggles, but in reality it was Peter that blew them up, cut off his own finger and transformed into his animagus form of a rat. He hid for 12 years as a rat in the Weasley household until we caught him in our third year, but he escaped before we could clear Sirius' name. He had spent 12 years in Azkaban because of a crime he didn't commit and the misunderstanding that he was the Secret Keeper.
"When Harry turned 11 he was introduced to the Wizarding world for the first time. He was treated to kindness for the first time. His life with the Dursey's was horrible, he was raised to be a House Elf and called a Freak, they would take his school belongings and lock them away, his bedroom before school was a cupboard under the stairs. Yet he was the kindest boy I knew, so brave and loyal no matter how he was treated. Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley and I became best friends in our first year, we were considered the Golden Trio, looking at it we could easily be considered Marauders 2.0 but not pranksters, just troublemakers" she laughed a little at the memories of her and her boys adventures. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled in amusement, but her laughter died as sadness took over as she remembered they were dead, before the tears could start she continued on, she couldn't break now there was too much to tell.
"Anyways," she coughed to remove the shake from her voice,"our first year was the start of the trouble, but not the worst. First year we had Professor Quirrel for Defence Against the Dark Arts, he wore a turban and was very nervous and stuttered a lot. Severus Snape was our Potions Professor and due to his hatred of James in school, it meant he hated Harry with every fibre of his being. That year the third corridor was out of bounds, we learnt it was because there was a three headed dog guarding a trapdoor. Through our snooping and investigating we discovered that it was guarding the Philosopher's stone and someone was trying to steal it. We suspected Snape because of his suspicious activities and bullying of Harry, but in the end he was protecting Harry and it was Quirrel. Through Ron and my help, Harry prevented Quirrel from stealing it, from giving it to Voldemort who had possessed him. His head was attached to Quirrel and hid under the turban. Harry defeated him once more as Voldemort couldn't touch him due to the love pulsing through the blood in his veins thanks to Lily Potter.
"Second year we learnt that Harry was a Parsletongue and the Chamber of Secrets had been opened. Due to Harry's ability everyone believed he was opening it, muggleborns were being petrified by something in the castle, I figured it out that it was a Basilisk but before I could tell anyone I myself was petrified. Harry and Ron found my scrunched up research in my hand, and upon learning that Ron's sister Ginny had been taken into the Chamber to die, they followed. Ron and Harry were split up when the roof collapsed stopping Ron from moving forward, Harry went alone. At 12 years old he defeated the basilisk using the Sword of Gryffindor.
"The basilisk was awakened by Voldemort, he had a diary that Ginny had been writing in, a certain Malfoy senior had slipped it into her cauldron at Diagon Alley. That diary wrote back as Tom Riddle, his birth name, and using the diary possessed the poor 11 year old girl to open the chamber and set the monster on others. Harry destroyed the diary using a basilisk fang, defeating Voldemort once more.
"Third year Sirius Black escaped Azkaban and we learned the true story of Peter Pettigrew and the betrayal of Harry's parents. That night he escaped as Remus Lupin, our third year DADA Professor who helped us learn the truth, forgot his potion that kept his mind during transformation, which I will be brewing for him sir, I will not take credit for it as it has not been created yet, but I will not stand by as he suffers monthly," Hermione was adamant about helping her werewolf friend, he suffered too many years, from being turned at a young age by Fenrir, to losing his pack within a week of one another.
"Sirius couldn't contain Pettigrew while trying to save us from a werewolf. Thus Pettigrew escaped and made his way to his master. Sirius had to continue hiding as the truth had once again escaped and no one would believe 3 thirteen year olds and a werewolf.
"Fourth year came the resurface of Death Eaters, they had some fun at muggles expense at the Quidditch World Cup. The Dark Mark was shown and Harry, Ron and I started to understand just how dangerous our times were becoming, especially Harry. We went to school and the Triwizard Tournament was announced, with an age limit of 17. Mad-Eye Moody joined the staff as DADA professor and taught us about Unforgivables and Constant Vigelence. Our champions were chosen, Fleur Delacour of Beuxbattons, Viktor Krum of Durmstrang and Cedric Diggory of Hogwarts. However, somehow the Goblet was tricked into believing there was a fourth school, and out came 14 year old Harry Potter's name, stuck in a competition with of age wizards by a binding magical contract. He managed to complete the tasks without dying, but the third task, in the maze, he and Cedric Diggory made it to the cup together. Being the fair players that they were, they decided to share the glory for Hogwarts and take the cup together.
"The cup was a Portkey and transported both of them out of the maze and into a graveyard. They thought maybe it was still part of the task until Harry's scar started burning and he heard 'kill the spare' Cedric was killed in front of Harry instantly. Pettigrew came out of the dark, placed something in a cauldron and trapped Harry against a gravestone. Bone of the father unknowingly given, flesh of the servant willingly sacrificed and blood of the enemy forcibly taken.
"Pettigrew cut off his left hand, took Tom Riddle Seniors bones from the grave Harry was standing on, and Harry's blood. Voldemort was resurrected and forced Harry to duel him. Their wands were brothers, same Phoenix tail so their spells collided, and Prior Incantatem of Voldemorts wand occurred. Cedric Diggory, Bertha Jorkin's, a muggle caretaker and Harry's parents appeared as ghosts to protect him, Cedric asked him to take his body back while his parents told him they loved him. They gave him time to escape back to the cup and bring Cedric home. We were all horrified when Harry appeared in front of the maze, covered in blood, shaking, sobbing over a dead Cedric. He told us Voldemort was back, causing was chaos. Moody took Harry away, to the school and started interrogating him on what happened in the graveyard. Moody was really Barty Crouch Jr, a Death Eater, polyjuiced as Moody, he put Harry's name in the Goblet, he was the one who sent Harry to the graveyard. He was caught before he could harm Harry but the damage was done; Voldemort was back" Hermione shivered at the memory, seeing Harry so broken over Cedric's body, the first death of so many. She took a breath before Dumbledore offered her a goblet of water. She drank the whole goblet in one, parched from the whole battle and now her recollection.
"Our fifth year no one believed of his return, the Ministry was discrediting you and Harry, the Prophet was writing articles saying you were both nutters and would never print the truth. Dolores Umbridge, a Ministry official under Minister Fudge became our DADA professor, the Ministry was interfering with the school, refusing to teach us practical defensive was a prejudiced, sadist with no business being in a school of children. Harry argued with her incessantly, saying Voldemort was back. I kept my head down at first, but being a muggleborn and best friends with Harry, well you become noticed.
"She would target Harry because the Ministry was against him and she loved Minister Fudge. She targeted me because I was a muggleborn, I could be standing beside a rule breaker and I would be punished for not stopping them or if I spoke too loudly in class I was a disturbance. Her detentions were pure masochism, blood quills were her specialty with Harry, 'I must not tell lies' was carved into his hand. Being from a muggle family, I got to write lines 'I will learn my place' as of course I don't belong, but I also had to manually clean with boiling bleach immediately following my lines. Muggles can't use magic to clean, so why should I? I was being put in my place, so why should I keep my head down if it didn't matter what I did? So, we ended up starting our own defensive club teaching practical magic to students who wanted to in secret. She tried catching us but never could, not until much later, when someone ratted us out.
"While we were in school dealing with our own problems, the Order was up to something, protecting and guarding something but they would never tell us, we were considered too , sir, we found ridiculous. We had been in the middle of this war from the day we found Fluffy in that third floor room. If only they had informed us we could have avoided so much pain. They were protecting the prophecy in the Department of Mysteries, they didn't want Voldemort getting his hands on it since he only knew the first part.
"If they had explained everything, been truthful, Harry would have understood. He was having visions and that was how we found out what they were protecting. He was terrible at occulemency so he couldn't block the connection he seemed to have with Voldemort. It came in useful as it saved Arthur Weasley after he was attacked by Voldemorts snake while guarding the Department, but it was used also against him.
"A fake vision was planted of Sirius being tortured, being the last person closest to family to Harry, we all went to save him; Harry, Ron, Neville Longbottom, and myself were all fifth year, while Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood were fourth, but all Order members were gone from the school. You had left due to Umbridge learning about our club and blaming you of starting an army against the mininstry, Professor McGonagall was in St Mungos, Hagrid had run off onto who knows where, there was no one, leading to 6 Hogwarts student taking it upon themselves. We broke into the Department of Mysteries and fought Death Eaters, I was almost killed by Dolohov and everyone else was injured but not severely.
"Only one death occurred. In the room of death the Order appeared, it was there that Bellatrix Lestrange hit Sirius Black with a curse and he fell back into the veil, no body returned, his soul was taken and he was just gone, nothing to mourn over. Harry and Remus were devastated, their screams were haunting, you could hear their hearts break at losing him. I held Remus back from chasing Sirius, but then I was hit by Dolohov. Unfortunately, Harry chased Bellatrix down for his revenge, but Voldemort appeared and possessed him, but once again love conquered Voldemort. As Voldemort was in his mind he thought of Sirius and how much he would miss him and wish to die to be with him. That love pushed Voldemort from him and saved his life, the feelings were too strong and painful to Voldemort. When he was pushed out and recovering from the pain, Ministry officials appeared and witnessed Voldemort themselves and could no longer deny his return.
"Our sixth year was dark, the outside world was constant attacks, students were leaving school because their families were killed or fearful. Harry became obsessed with Draco Malfoy, he was convinced our school mate was a Death Eater but we all told him he was ridiculous as he was only sixteen. How wrong we were, he was one, but not by choice" Hermione sighed thinking of her old adversary, their relationship had been volatile from the start, but the last two years she had gotten to know such a different boy, the man he would become, would never become now.
"Draco Malfoy was my bully, he was the ultimate blood purist at school, angry that I was the brightest witch of my age and beat him in every class, yet I was a Mudblood," she scratched at her left arm subconsciously, Dumbledore's eyes flickered to the movement with curious eyes but thankfully left it, he would learn about it soon enough Hermione thought. "He was a confident, sneering boy, proud of everything about himself as he was a Malfoy. However, our sixth year he was quiet, he kept to himself, he didn't laugh and sneer with his friends, he wasn't harassing me in the halls calling me mudblood, he had bags under his eyes and pain in his eyes. I disagreed with Harry at every turn when he said Malfoy was a Death Eater, because the boy I was looking at was just that, a boy, a broken and scared boy whose father was in Azkaban because of our fight in the Department of Mysteries.
"It turned out that he was the broken boy because of exactly that, he was being punished because of his fathers failure and capture. He was given an impossible task he was expected to fail. He was forced the Dark Mark and the task of killing Albus Dumbledore"
Hermoine chose this time to look into Dumbledore's eyes, she had been avoiding it to keep her lecture like tone to reiterate her life as if it didn't hurt. Retelling her history like she didn't just witness every person's death or leave her life behind. Dumbledore looked interested in her story, he was giving her his undivided attention but he did not seem to be disturbed of what Hermoine just told him. Which she should have suspected, Voldemort has wanted him dead since he was a student at Hogwarts, he had fought Grindlewald, he knew death was inevitable in the end. Taking a breath she started up again, she was almost done, the hardest part would be her seventh year that she never took.
"His mission was given to him to fail, he was to die and take the Malfoy name with him, Voldemort understood how to punish a pureblood family. All year he was working on the Vanishing Cabinet in the Room of Requirement, he sent a cursed necklace and poisoned mead to you when he was desperate but both times injured innocents making him feel even more terrified and more of a monster. Harry almost killed him with a spell he read 'Sectumsempra' he learned from his potions book. Draco was bleeding everywhere, he almost died and that was Harry's first dabble with dark magic and made him sick to his stomach. He hated Draco, but killing another was never Harry's intention, he vowed to never use a spell that could harm another in that moment.
"I had become acquainted with Draco that year, I wouldn't say friends, but we were no longer enemies. He spoke to me of the expectations he faced, and I spoke to him of the prejudice I faced. He could do no right under the eyes of the Dark Lord, and I could do no right under the eyes of pureblood society. We came to understand each other. He stopped believing I stole my magic and admitted that I was a brilliant witch, and I forgave him for his past views that were instilled on him and promised to be an ear to listen to when his mission became too difficult. I realized that children of Death Eaters were manipulated and forced into actions just as much as we were forced into the war as well, only difference was they couldn't choose their side, while we could.
"Throughout the year you had been having private lessons with Harry, showing him modified memories of Tom Riddle and Slughorn discussing Horcruxes,"
This definitely got Dumbledore's attention, his eyebrows shot up and his eyes went wide, he leaned back in his chair and let out a breath
"He did-"
"Please sir, I need to finish this," Hermione said before he could continue. He looked back at her and nodded, "The day came when Harry retrieved the real unmodified memory of Tom Riddle asking if it was possible to make seven horcruxes. This confirmed your suspicion of multiple and told Harry it was time to go and retrieve one you had found. He ran for his Invisibility cloak and warned Ron and I that he felt Malfoy would do whatever he was planning that night. He left while Ron and I patrolled with our trusted friends.
"That night Death Eaters broke in, Draco had finally fixed the Vanishing Cabinet. My understanding with Draco meant I was aware he was working on a task, he refused to tell me because he knew I would either help him fix it, or force him to defect, he didn't want to put me in that position, as much as it pained him to lie to me," Hermione regretted to this day not forcing Draco to tell her, he had so many opportunities, but she thought they had more time. Deep, deep down she was glad she would never have to explain to Harry and Ron that she knew all along of Draco's mission, not how he was going to complete it, but at least his task. They would never forgive her if they learnt that she had a physical relationship with their school enemy, Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger, oh how her boys would have exploded if they knew.
"We fought along with the Order and they retreated. However, we later found out that they were successful in their mission. You and Harry had returned on the Astronomy Tower. Harry hid under his cloak and you froze him in place, he watched as Draco admitted everything he had been doing all year to you. He managed to disarm you, but when it came to the killing curse, it couldn't leave his lips. He lowered his wand, he couldn't do it, he wasn't a murderer. The other Death Eaters arrived and Harry witnessed Snape come in, you begged him and he hit you with the killing curse. Death Eaters, Snape and Draco escaped into the night, and that night we decided that Hogwarts was no longer safe. It wasn't our home anymore, we couldn't come back.
"So instead of our seventh year, we went horcrux hunting. We moved Harry from the Dursley's in the Battle of the Seven Potters, we Polyjuiced 6 people to have 7 Harry's and flew as all other forms were being tracked. The Death Eaters knew, and we all had to fight for our lives, Moody died, and George Weasley lost an ear. A few weeks later during Bill Weasleys wedding, the Ministry fell, Harry, Ron and I had to apparate and start our mission. We were almost caught somehow, which we later learned was because of the Taboo, the Ministry fell and the first step was to find all those who opposed them, and anyone who opposed him called him Voldemort. If you said his name, Snatchers would appear and you would be killed, taken to the Ministry, or if you were an Undesirable straight to Voldemort's lair.
"Our mission didn't start off great, the horcrux that you retrieved with Harry was a fake, so we were back at square one. There was a note in the fake horcrux, a Death Eater discovered Voldemort's secret and defected, Regulus Black, he died during the switch. From that knowledge, we found out it had been at Order Headquarters at Grimmauld Place but was pawned by Mundungus Fletcher, he sold it to Dolores Umbridge. We spent weeks planning and broke into the Ministry and stole it back, it was a disaster and forced us to hide in a tent in the woods, constantly moving and putting up wards. We had nothing to destroy the locket horcrux so we took turns keeping it close which resulted in very bad moods. Ron left us when it became too much, Harry and I went on. We went to Godric's Hollow to see if maybe anything was there, but of course it was a trap. Nagini, Voldemorts snake, was there, she had killed Bathilda Bagshot and was using her skin to disguise herself. Harry almost died and I had to apparate us out just in time. He lost his wand but we were alive.
"Shortly after that Ron returned, your Deluminator led him back to us where we were also guided by a patronus to the sword of Gryffindor. When Harry killed the basilisk it took the venom which can destroy a horcrux, we finally destroyed the locket. We still had to find the others, the Diary from second year was the first destroyed so that was 2 out of 7. In my time there were 7, however in this time there are 5. The others consisted of Hufflepuffs cup, Ravenclaws Diadem, and Marvolo Gaunts ring. The two that are in my time is Nagini, created after his resurrection, and the other made accidentally," Dumbledore frowned slightly at this, how do you make such a dark object accidentally? "Slytherins locket will be placed in the cave when Voldemort asks Regulus Black to borrow his House Elf. That will be the year he graduates, 1979 I believe, we must stop him from going after it alone, he will die, inferi will drag him to his death in a lake, we can save him from that fate.
"However, back to my story. We had destroyed the locket and one night in a fit of anger Harry said Voldemort's name, Snatchers appeared and we had to think quickly. I used a stinging hex on Harry's face to prevent them recognizing Undesirable Number 1. Unfortunately, Ron was a Weasley, his red hair couldn't save him and I was the most famous Mudblood in the United Kingdom, so we were taken to Voldemort's headquarters at Malfoy Manor. Draco Malfoy lied for us, pretended he couldn't recognize us when after five years of rivalry and one as companions, we could spot each other from miles away. We almost got away with just being imprisoned but Bellatrix Lestrange is a maniacal bitch and she spotted the Sword of Gryffindor that one of the Snatchers took from us, apparently it had just been placed in her Gringotts vault, a fake, but in her vault nonetheless.
"She became distressful," Hermione winced at the memory of Bellatrix mad scream, you could see the pure insanity in her eyes when she saw the sword, "she thought we had been in her vault, which had her wondering what else could we have taken? She decided to interrogate us first before calling her Dark Lord, she couldn't allow him to know if we had stolen anything. She picked me, she wanted to have fun with the mudblood, we are lesser than Blood Traitors so no real loss if I die," she spat. The intolerances in the Wizarding world made her head spin, so many backwards and old fashioned thinking in a world filled with the beauty of magic, 'I wanted to change it all, maybe here I can, because back home it would never come to be' she thought bitterly.
"Cruciatus Curse was her favourite. I don't know how long I was under, maybe 3 hours? 10? A day? But the Cruciatus curse is the most excruciating pain I have ever experienced, for hours she questioned me on how we got into our vault, what else did we take? I told her nothing, I told her we had never been in her vault, I lied and told her it was a fake, I kept crying out it's a fake, it's a fake but she didn't believe me. How I kept lying under her torture I will attribute to Harry, he wouldn't live if I gave up and he was the only one who could win for us. If I let him down, I let down the entirety of the Wizarding world and the muggle world. So I held on, but she knew this, Bellatrix realized it wasn't enough to just torture me with the curse, so out came her blade. Her cursed blade that she so enjoys to torture with. She gave me this," retelling the story of Malfoy Manor she had been holding onto her arm so tightly that her knuckles were white, she wouldn't allow herself to cry for this story, she survived and didn't betray anyone, she was proud of herself for surviving that, she knew not many could.
Dumbledore had watched her carefully during the torture story, holding her left forearm obviously made him nervous, but not overly so because he knew she made it through the portal, she was pure of heart. He was nervous about his girls mind she had been through so much for so young. Hermione thought he was nervous for other reasons, it was her left arm, the portal allowing her through didn't even come to her mind. She pulled up her sleeve and turned her arm, and understandably he recoiled at the sight, it still stung her to see people recoil from her even if she knew it was at the word and not her skin.
MUDBLOOD
The carved words still looked fresh, the cursed blade never allowing it to go away. She would forever see that horrid word staring at her, reminding her of what she was, what people thought of her. One day she would see it and be proud at what she survived, but for now she cringed and turned into herself whenever she looked upon it. She belonged in this world, but this word told her that there were people who would rather her dead than share it.
"It will never go away, a cursed blade is her favourite apart from the Cruciatus. I must live with it." she explained with a tone of finality, "Thankfully Harry and Ron escaped, Dobby the House Elf could apparate in the wards, he helped Harry and Ron save me before I was handed to Fenrir Greyback, and we escaped to Shell Cottage, Bill and Fleur Weasley's home, unfortunately Dobby was hit with the knife during the escape and died.
"During my recovery we came to the conclusion Bellatrix fear came from Voldemort entrusting her with something in her vault, and what else would he entrust but a piece of his soul? I polyjuiced as Bellatrix as I had stolen her wand, Harry stole Draco's and we broke into Gringotts. It was a disaster but we made it out with the cup and flew a dragon to safety. Harry had a vision of Voldemort discovering our mission and in his rage thought of each horcrux. We had one left before we could get to Nagini who was always at his side. He showed us the the last one was at Hogwarts, the Diadem of Ravenclaw, through some very speedy research before the battle we discovered it in the Room of Hidden Things.
"We used basilisk fangs from the Chamber of Secrets and destroyed the cup, a stupid schoolmate Death Eater couldn't control fiendfyre and died but destroyed the diadum in the process. All that was left was Nagini, we went hunting for Voldemort, through Harry's connection we found him at the Shrieking Shack with Snape. Snape was wanting to go find Harry but Voldemort wanted something else, he had tried to get the Elder Wand from the grave of Albus Dumbledore but it wasn't working, because he believed Snape to be the true master of the Elder Wand as he had killed you. Voldemort killed Snape with Nagini and left him, now believing he held the power, Harry and I ran to Snape and he gave us memories, he made Harry look into his eyes as he died in front of us.
"Voldemort called a cease fire, gave us time to collect our dead and Harry an hour to give himself up. We returned to the castle, all I saw was death, I wanted to fall to the ground and die right there. So many dead, my school mates, my friends, my chosen family. Remus Lupin lay there with his wife, leaving behind their son, Fred Weasley gone, leaving behind a broken twin, his other half. Colin Creevey too young to be in battle but had snuck back in, Lavender Brown my girly dormmate I would give anything to hear her squeeling over a boy again, I couldn't look anywhere without seeing a face I recognized. I fell to the ground and sobbed, I cried for everyone we had lost, after I pulled myself together I realized how much time had passed, Harry hadn't returned from viewing the memories so I ran to your office. He wasn't there but the pensieve was and I had to know.
"The memories showed me that Snape loved Lily, they were best friends until a falling out, he called her Mudblood, she could never forgive him, so he turned to the people who would take him in; Death Eaters. When he shared the prophecy with Voldemort and learned that he was targeting Lily he came to you and begged you to save her, you were disgusted he would give up James and Harry so he begged you to save them all. Voldemort gave her the option to spare her life because Snape asked him of it. When Lily died he was furious with you, you failed him, but through his own failure he promised to protect Harry. He hated Harry because he was James' double but Lily's eyes, it was a brutal reminder every single day that Lily picked James, but he kept his promise. Your death was planned, you had instructed him to kill you, because you knew Draco wouldn't be able to and he would be killed for his failure if you lived.
"Even when Voldemort returned he protected Harry, all through school he did and during our hunt he was behind the patronus that led us to the Sword of Gryffindor. However, the last memory was the hardest to watch, it was the truth about Harry. The night Voldemort was defeated a piece of his soul embedded itself in Harry, creating the seventh accidental horcrux. Harry had to willingly die to defeat Voldemort. After witnessing that memory I knew where he went, the forest where Voldemort was waiting. I ran as fast as I could but I was too late, when I arrived at the Entrance Hall courtyard, there stood Voldemort surrounded by Death Eaters and Hagrid, holding a body. I broke down, not my Harry, not Harry he couldn't be dead, Nagini was still alive and so was Voldemort, we weren't finished. He tried to invite people to his side, to join him and live, or refuse him and die.
"Draco Malfoy, looked at me once and I could see his resolve break. He was the only one who walked over and he only did to be with his mother, if he was to die it would be by his mother's side, the woman who loved him no matter what. I couldn't be disappointed in that decision, he wasn't choosing a side, he was choosing his family.
"Neville walked forward and I was terrified we were losing our brave, true fighters of the Light but instead he told them even without Harry we would fight. Voldemort laughed and put the sorting hat on Neville's head and set it ablaze, his screams were horrifying, but it shook everyone out of their devastated trance and the battle began again. I saw Neville rip the hat off his burned flesh and pull the Sword of Gryffindor from the hat and strike Nagini before he collapsed from the severe burns on his face, an Acromantula leapt on his body and finished him off. In the chaos I could hear Hagrid screaming Harry's name but I couldn't understand why, Harry was gone it was just us now. The fighting continued and as we made it into the Great Hall I watched as Ron was killed by Dolohov, Yaxley killed Molly, Arthur Weasley killed Dolohov before McNair got him, the Death Eaters just kept coming. I was hit by a tripping jinx and fell onto a pile of bloody bodies but when then I heard silence, everyone had stopped fighting.
"I looked up and somehow Harry was standing there, he had this pained expression on his face, you could see the amount of dead surrounding him was affecting him, you could see he thought it was his fault, he hadn't gotten to Voldemort soon enough. He explained that when he died, he sacrificed himself for everyone and that meant the killing curse only killed the horcrux within him, that when Snape killed you, he was not the true master of the Elder Wand because Draco Malfoy had disarmed you first. Harry had in turn disarmed Draco at Malfoy Manor, therefore Harry was the true wielder. He taunted Voldemort that we destroyed all of his horcruxes and he was completely mortal now. In Voldemort's rage he was sloppy and Harry easily defeated him, Voldemort dropped to the ground dead.
"However, this enraged every single surviving Death Eater, they blasted their way through every surviving Light member standing. I was so shocked at the speed and rage of every Death Eater I couldn't even stand from where I was on the bodies. Ginny was hit first by Bellatrix, Harry screamed seeing his girlfriend felled before him, then I watched as Harry was hit with multiple curses at once and blood just spurt from his mouth as he fell, the last of the Weasley's were hit with some of the most brutal dark curses I have ever seen. Within minutes I was the only one left alive in the Great Hall, not a single piece of floor could be seen from the bodies or the blood.
"The Death Eaters left to go hunt down survivors in the castle and when I finally stood I could hear Bellatrix and Fenrir Greyback, just outside the Great Hall, talking about hunting me, they somehow knew I was still alive. I'm assuming it is to do with Fenrir's werewolf heightened scent, but I read the letter, made a run for it and I only escaped them before I came through." Hermione finished her tale and slouched back exhausted on the chair.
Silence filled the room as Dumbledore digested all of of her information. She waited for him to start asking questions, she knew she went into a lot of detail and also missed a lot out but the main points were made.
"Miss Granger you said it was?" She nodded, "Well that is an incredible tale, undoubtedly you are a very strong and intelligent witch for you to have survived and also be my selection in this task. I would not pick just anyone to use the time portal I created, and not just any witch could use it, you must be pure of heart," the twinkle in his eyes was back full force as he observed her, "The betrayal you spoke of with the Fidilius Charm, you knew of it, but you said the betrayal was deeper?"
"Yes, Remus Lupin told me before the battle that nothing happened as it should, they would have been happier and more love if Peter hadn't done what he did. I'm not actually sure what the deeper betrayal was however," she said thoughtfully, shouldn't Remus have explained, or Dumbledore in his letter?
"I may actually have an answer for that, it is only suspicions but I am not known for being wrong," he said with some amusement, "you tell me James Potter and Lily Evans are married and have a son in your time?"
"Um yes, Remus told me not to listen to the romanticized stories of the past, but we were told James loved her from the moment he set eyes on her, he was very arrogant and loud in his affections which she hated," Dumbledore chuckled at this, "In seventh year they became head boy and girl and through his maturing she gave him a chance and they were together ever since, the greatest couple of Hogwarts."
"Well it is true that Mr Potter shares his affections quite loudly and Miss Evans discouraged these exclamations quite loudly, Mr Potter has never shown interest in Miss Evans," Hermione's mouth went dry.
"What-" Hermione couldn't even think of how to form a coherent question, how was it going onto their seventh year and James has not shown interest? They were all told from first year he announced his love to her.
"Mr Potter took Miss Evans under his protection in first year by declaring his fealty, protecting the muggleborn from any foul play or duel with him in her honour," this sounded more like what she had heard, but no romance, maybe it blooms this year, "they have been best friends since that moment, a brother sister bond"
Hermione stared blankly at the professor, a sibling bond? How would that result in marriage and a baby exactly?
"You spoke of them being the greatest couple of Hogwarts?" Hermione slowly nodded
"Yes, I am having a hard time seeing how that happens if they are like siblings," she replied honestly.
"The betrayal may have something to do with another relationship entirely. A lot would be affected if Miss Evans were to begin dating Mister Potter"
"Why is that sir?"
"Because, Miss Evans is currently, and has been for the last five years, dating Mister Remus Lupin."
A/N: Read and Review! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I know that a lot of it was just a recount of the books, but I threw some of my own additions in there.
I do not own Harry Potter, any of the characters, or places. I am simply a muggle wishing to be in Hufflepuff, living in the world JK Rowling has provided us. I only came up with the plot.