Chapter 5: Trelawny's Prophecy
Hermione tried to put her very drunken tryst with the boy who was almost her son-in-law out of her mind and dive back into her lycanthropy research with Teddy. He was a big help, a hard worker, eager to please. And he could always make her laugh. His smile never failed to warm her heart, even if that smile didn't quite reach his eyes.
That was what worried her. She hoped to Merlin that Teddy's transformations were not leading him to darker places of thought. Suicidal thoughts. She dearly hoped he would hold on, for his own sake, as well as for that of Harry's. Though a breakthrough had not come yet in their quest for answers, she and Teddy had learned a lot about what it might take to free him from this curse.
And they were also learning a lot about each other. On lulls in their shared office, Teddy always asked Hermione how she was doing. It was strange, but something about him always made Hermione answer honestly about what and how she was feeling, even when she wasn't feeling great.
A significant point of sadness was, of course, her pending divorce with Ron that was progressing through the courts apace. Notaries and other documents regarding the annulment passed over her desk every now and again, which sometimes even triggered bouts of crying. Hermione hadn't wanted her marriage to fail – no woman did. And she still loved Ron, even if it was in a way that was changing. He was – had been – her husband. He would always be the father of their children. And despite all that had passed between them, he was still her best friend. And Ron had been a good husband, had loved her and pleasured her in the beginning. But, if her mistaken rendezvous with Scorpius Malfoy had taught her nothing else, it was that Hermione was looking for something more in her life. She needed someone who could not only love her, but challenge her and support her. Oh, Ron had challenged her, all right – the phrase opposites attract hadn't been coined for no reason – but it had been in a way that wasn't healthy or stimulating. Hermione knew she needed, wanted to be with someone who was her intellectual equal, and despite having flashes of ingenuity when he needed to, Ron wasn't that.
Teddy was sharp, though. He managed to approach his own problem with a deeper understanding than Hermione had ever thought possible. There were moments when he was able to make her see things in a whole new way. It also helped that he was nice to look at….
She mentally slapped herself, as an image of her straddling and riding her daughter's ex-boyfriend popped into her mind. What was she thinking? Teddy was far too young for her! And even if he wasn't, she wasn't quite ready to step out and embark on a romantic relationship. Not quite yet. Not when her current marriage was on the final descent of collapse.
It was the middle of the day one morning, Hermione and Teddy slogging through at their respective desks, when there was a knock on the door. Glancing up, Hermione smiled at the dark-skinned gentleman grinning at her, a very familiar witch with zany glasses peering over his shoulder behind him.
"All right, Hermione?"
"Dean! How are you?"
"Just fine. I'm taking Professor Trelawny here down to the Department of Mysteries. Something of a tour for me, but she needs to retrieve a fulfilled prophecy for Divination historical research."
Hermione had known her old classmate had been working in the Department of Mysteries since before she had been elected Minister for Magic. As for her one-time professor…. Well, Hermione hadn't bothered to keep up with her. She and Sybill had never seen eye-to-eye, but Hermione still managed to smile at the batty witch politely.
Feeling an ache in her muscles, Hermione stood up and stretched. "Mind if I join you on the walk down? I'm due to step away anyhow." Crossing to the door, she paused to rest a hand on Teddy's shoulder, conscientiously reminding herself to not let the touch linger. "Keep on plugging away. When I come back, we can trade off so you can take a break."
He nodded gamely, and Hermione couldn't help but feel that his eyes were on her as she followed Dean and Trelawny out.
Like a few weeks ago when returning to Malfoy Manor, Hermione hadn't set foot in the Department of Mysteries in thirty years. Not since that night in 1996 when Harry had led them here on a mission to rescue Sirius, only for the Death Eaters to nearly kill them all. The gates of the elevator opening with a clang, Dean smiled as he stood aside to let the ladies pass. He then escorted them down the maze-like corridors and rows of shelves, stacked high with filmy, glass orbs.
"This should be the row, Professor," he directed to Trelawny, guiding her down one path. Trelawny nodded gratefully, if also a little absently. "I'll wait by the lifts."
Hermione decided to stay close in case she got lost. Stepping into the adjacent row, she decided to peruse for a bit, keeping one eye out for when Trelawny would pass, and then she would follow her out to the lifts.
The prophecy orbs really were entrancing. She recalled how out-of-it Harry had been when his own prophecy had called to him. Standing up on her tiptoes, she reached up to get a better look at one. Hermione heard voices whispering, barely unintelligible. She peered closer….
She jumped nearly a foot in the air when she felt a hand clamp down onto her shoulder. Spinning about with a gasp, Hermione found herself in the vice-like grip of Sybill Trelawny, who was now looking somewhere off the beautiful witch's shoulder, her eyes dazed and unfocused.
"The werewolf's spawn will go to perish at the castle of an ancient love."
"Sorry?" Hermione spluttered, goosebumps bubbling up along her flesh.
"He will give up hope at the sunset of his 26th year. Unless he can learn to love not only himself, but love another, and earn her love in return by the rise of the full moon. He shall carry the mark of the beast forever and die in its monstrous form unless his beloved brings unto him the Stone of Life…." Trelawny's eyes were darting around in her skull, like she was undergoing a seizure. Her voice hung on the last word – life – until it became a growl, her throat finally choking off on the last word.
At that moment, Trelawny pitched forward, hand still gripping Hermione's shoulder until it was painful. Lifting her head, the Divination professor's eyes were suddenly normal again and looking lost, confused.
"Oh….. Oh, my dear girl….. did you need something?"
"No… No….." Terrified, Hermione released herself from Trelawny's grip and fled in a run all the way back to the lifts, gently kicking Dean out and hastily explaining where he could find the professor before she shot up back to her office.
Hermione found it hard to look at Teddy for the rest of that day. Her musings on fears as to whether Teddy might be, or soon become, suicidal were now all but confirmed. Deep in her bones, she knew Trelawny's prophecy had been referring to Teddy. "Werewolf's spawn"…. Who else could she be referring to? But as for the rest of it…. Love another by the rise of the full moon….. sunset of his 26th year….. mark of the beast….. the Stone of Life…. What did it all mean?
Of course, the one phrase – "Lose all hope at the sunset of his 26th year" – had caused Hermione to panic. Teddy would be turning 27 within the next seven months. He had been an April baby, and the cool winds of September had recently heralded Hermione's son, Hugo, back to Hogwarts. Oh, Merlin…. If Teddy killed himself….
She dismissed him earlier than usual, and stayed behind, working long hours into the night. As soon as Teddy had departed, Hermione had sent several Patronus messages – one to Ginny, warning her to just keep an eye on her godson. The other two went out to her brother-in-law and her soon-to-be-ex-husband, asking them to come to her office; she needed to see them right away.
Hermione had to give Ron credit for showing up; though the end of the divorce was leaving a lot of open wounds, still he came when she needed him. Breathlessly, near tears, she told them everything about her encounter with Trelawny. Then she told it all again, in minute detail when Harry asked her to go through it again – all of it.
"This happened to me, third year, the afternoon before we met Sirius and Pettigrew tried to sell us out, under the Whomping Willow," Harry mused. His face was a ghastly white out of concern for his godson, but his expression remained in a grim, methodical line. "Trelawny, she…. she gave me a prophecy about servants and masters. It wasn't until much later that I realized she was talking about Wormtail, and was trying to warn me. But when she finished giving the prophecy…. She didn't remember anything about what she did, just like with you."
Harry paced his sister-in-law's office, chin on his fist. In one corner, Ron was sprawled on a couch, but following his friends with his eyes, attentive and concerned.
"Tell it to me again," Harry rumbled low, after a silence.
Taking a deep breath, Hermione recited the prophecy: "The werewolf's spawn will go to perish at the castle of an ancient love…."
"Ancient love…. What the bloody hell is that supposed to mean…?" Ron quipped.
"Don't interrupt," Harry murmured to her husband before she could. Hermione had to suppress a smile before she continued: "He will give up hope at the sunset of his 26th year. Unless he can learn to love not only himself, but love another, and earn her love in return by the rise of the full moon. He shall carry the mark of the beast forever and die in its monstrous form unless his beloved brings unto him the Stone of Life…."
Harry had turned even more translucent at the mention of sunset of Teddy's 26th year. As for the rest, he appeared just as lost as Hermione had felt for much of that day.
"Let's break it down a stanza at a time," the Chosen One attempted. "It's saying Teddy will…. die…. Unless he can learn to love another… by the rise of the full moon…."
"Victoire! She and Teddy were dating through most of their time at Hogwarts. They were pretty serious, I reckon. Maybe he could get back together with her!" Ron threw out.
It was a good lead – the only one they had for that particular premonition – but Harry shook his head. "That ship has sailed, Ron. Teddy's told me as much. So has Bill too. Besides, I think Victoire might already be seeing someone else."
"We skipped over something," Hermione interjected. "He has to learn to love himself as well as another…."
"That part's easy," Ron dismissed. "We'll have to remain vigilant and remind Teddy how valuable he is. Let him know that he matters."
Harry nodded, his mind already moving on to the next stanza in the prophecy. "By the rise of the full moon…. The full moon…. at the sunset of his 26th year…. I'll have to look at lunar charts for when the full moon hits during next April. Aside from that….. Trelawny seems to be implying that the full moon might… save Teddy in some way."
"Bloody how?" Ron bemoaned. "That bloody full moon has been nothing but the bane of his existence the last several years, poor bloke!"
"I know," Harry said quietly. "He shall carry the mark of the beast forever and die in its monstrous form unless his beloved brings unto him the Stone of Life…." He let out a long breath. "So, Trelawny's saying Teddy will die as a werewolf unless his beloved – who so far remains anonymous – brings him the Stone of Life…." He turned to Hermione. "Is there anything about a Stone of Life in Ancient Runes?"
Hermione shook her head. "No. There's no stone that goes by that name…." Then her brown eyes went wide. "What if it's not a name, but a… a title, of sorts?"
Harry cocked his head to one side. "Meaning?"
"Like…. you're Harry Potter. The Boy Who Lived. The Chosen One. What if 'The Stone of Life' is referring to something that goes by another name? A more common name? Like…."
"The Sorcerer's Stone." Harry and Hermione snapped their gazes to Ron when he spoke up. Hermione's almost ex-husband shrugged. "We read about it first year, right? The Sorcerer's Stone is supposed to give you new life. Make you immortal, so that you'll never die, right?"
Hermione beamed. "Ron…. You're a genius!"
"Hang on," Harry said. "If Stone of Life is referring to the Sorcerer's Stone… first of all: where is it?"
"Wait," Hermione's face fell. "Wasn't it destroyed?"
Harry winced. "That's not what Dumbledore told me…. And second of all, are we talking about preserving life? Or bringing back old ones? Depending on what 'life' might mean, there's another possibility."
"That being…..?" Hermione prompted.
"The Resurrection Stone. The second of the Deathly Hallows."
"….. which is somewhere in the Forbidden Forest!" Ron yelled triumphantly. Just as quickly, however, his face drooped like Hermione's. "Except…. The Tales of Beedle the Bard say that the Resurrection Stone can only bring back ghosts of the dead. It can't bring back the dead itself. You told us you only saw ghosts of your parents and Sirius and Remus in the forest, but they didn't come back from the dead."
Harry nodded. Hermione sank into her desk chair in despair.
"Once again…. a dead end."
There had to be another Stone of Life that could save Teddy…. But what was it? Where was it? And his beloved had to bring it to him… but who could that 'beloved' be?