Iris was feeling as light as a feather. She had hurtled into the mirror, felt the ring burn and then felt herself falling into nothingness but white light. She felt like she was floating in nothing. She didn't know what had happened on Earth. It felt a little anticlimactic but she supposed she had endured more than enough drama at the battle. She could only wish everyone had somehow survived unscathed.
Esmerelda was still with her. She was a real comfort at this time. Iris hissed at her and Esmerelda hissed back. Iris thanked her profusely for her help. As bone idle snakes went, Esmerelda had certainly saved her best till last. Iris stroked her for comfort. Esmerelda was curled around her and, as was typical of her, began to doze off. Iris sighed. At least the Riddle problem had been solved. Iris couldn't think why Lily's protection hadn't worked. It had in the future. What was different this time? They had set everything up for Harry. He was the one in the prophecy.
Hermione seemed to know. When she saw her she would ask. If she saw her. Iris tried not to dwell on this. The ring had done something. Iris was sure of it. She heard a distant booming sound. She didn't know what was up or down. She felt like an astronaut right now. There didn't appear to be any gravity here. Her mind was clear now. She felt herself recalling the snippets of memory she had when she had disappeared for almost a year. All those beautiful colours. Those worlds were so beautiful.
She had floated around exploring them. How much better they would be with her family and friends with her. She tried very hard not to think of Hermione. She brushed a tear away. Then another. She looked down at Esmerelda who was dozing. She wouldn't care if Iris had a private cry. Iris's chin wobbled, 'Oh, fuck. Here I go,' she said to no one. The tears streamed down her face. There was no one here to see her cry. Iris found it cathartic actually. It had been a really stressful week. Well. Month. Actually, the last few years had been a bloody nightmare.
She'd made the best of it. Grateful for the people who had got her through it all, but yes. It had been a very stressful ordeal. She needed her mum. And Hermione. And her dad. Draco, Bella and Harry. She needed Daphne and Astoria and Grandpa Gareth and Dawn. She wanted to see Neville and the Weasley's. She wanted to listen to Hagrid talk and have Fang slobber all over her.
She wanted to see what snazzy suit Albus would be rocking and have banter with Pansy. She needed them. Time ticked on. Iris was getting concerned now. It had been a few hours at least. Nothing seemed to be happening. She looked at the Peverell ring again. It was quiet. Gleaming white. She suspected it was spent. It had been pushed hard at the battle and had taken her into whatever this place was.
She heard more noises. Distant. Like echoes in a vague dream. Rhythmic noises. There seemed to be a pattern to them. Repetitive noises. Thuds. Esmerelda nuzzled into her neck. More strange sounds. Then a noise like a slow heartbeat. Iris felt herself becoming tired. Her leg didn't hurt at all. She had taken a look and her skin looked smooth and healed. Whiteness surrounded her as she floated. She closed her eyes. Exhaustion seeped through her. She felt empty. Whether it was shock or trauma Iris wasn't sure, but she felt herself fall into oblivion.
The white light had engulfed the people in the glowing bubbles completely. Like Iris, they too could hear the sounds coming from where their home had once been. Hermione had pulled herself together. It wasn't over till it was over. Iris had been in plenty of scrapes before. Ok. Being in the middle of the Big Bang was a bit much, even for her. The bubbles had drifted together.
Hermione had the odd experience of waving to her bewildered mother and father in the middle of white light. Whatever Hermione had been expecting, sitting in pods in the middle of the cosmos after watching the Earth explode hadn't crossed her mind. Out of habit, she checked her watch for the time. It had stopped at half ten. She shook it. It still didn't work. It could have broken with the force of the flight up. She hadn't felt in danger though. It had been fast but more of a glide. She had felt her tummy turn, but other than that she felt healthy.
She looked around at the other occupants. Somehow Lavender and Parvati had found each other. Luna was near to the other Luna. The people around her were the people who had been in or near the hall when the bomb was about to hit the castle. She could make out the Greengrass family who were looking apprehensive. Clearly worried about Iris. Hermione couldn't be sure but except for Iris, they all seemed to be accounted for. Her own Doppelgangers were across the way. Bella and Sirius were looking around at everyone. Bella seemed very shocked at what she was witnessing. Sirius had all sorts of emotions passing his face. Lily had managed to get near to the two Harry's.
Lily had the most curious expression on her face. James was also looking shaken. They hadn't returned to Equilibrium. They were with them. Hermione had a theory that the reason the protection had ceased to work is that somehow Lily's sacrifice had been voided by her return back to life fully. The ring must have regenerated the Potters fully in the chaos. Possibly for selfish reasons. It had really wanted its own vengeance on Riddle, so it had jumped the queue. Iris was right. The ring had feelings.
It had caused a kerfuffle at the time, but if that really was true then Harry had his parents back. Hermione hugged herself. Lily and James shouldn't be here in the pods if they weren't alive. They should have been returned to Equilibrium. There had been so much going on that she hadn't been paying attention at the time when Lily and James had supported Iris and Harry before they left to face Riddle. They had both felt something. Hermione mused.
Iris had known them both longer than almost anyone else in her life. Since she was a newborn. Lily used to babysit her. They had both helped raise her in Equilibrium. They had spent more time than anyone else from Equilibrium on Earth. The ring had possibly nudged them along. James and his eyesight. Both Lily and James had reported physical changes over the years.
Hermione thought of the prophecy. For neither can live while the other survives. Was that part actually not about Harry? They had all thought it was. But the prophecy was also about James and Lily. Those who had thrice defied him. Harry had vanquished the Dark Lord as a toddler. Riddle had died. He should have died. The ring had wanted to be the one to do it.
'For neither can live while the other survives,' Hermione thought. 'Neither James and Lily can live while Riddle survives.' Prophecies could be very cryptic indeed.
Harry was connected to the power the Dark Lord knew not. Lily and James had come back to life. Their magic was a part of each other. Harry's bond with Iris and thus with the ring itself. Iris and Harry were owners of two of the Deathly Hallows. His parseltongue was from Iris. The fact was both Iris and Harry did have a part of Riddle in them for years. It had morphed with the power of the Stone and the Cloak.
The magic that Riddle should not be tampered with because no one knew of the effects. What if some of the effects were for good? Harry had saved lives when he could see into Riddle's mind. Harry's power. Love. He'd put his mind through Hell to keep the connection. His parents had loved Iris too and Iris returned that love. They had helped make her into a better person than she may have been if the circumstances had been different.
They all had leant on each other. How they had all pushed on for the ones they cared for. To protect the innocent and fight for a better world. The Peverell ring had felt that. Hermione looked around at the pods. Maybe some good might come from all of this. Riddle. He was finished. The Death Eaters. The Nazis. It hadn't really sunk in yet. Gabriel and Lucifer would be dealing with all of that.
The distant noises were thudding now in a rhythmic beat. Draco's pod gently nudged hers as he looked at her with a smug look.
Hermione couldn't help but smile back. All those hours they had spent together in the Hogwarts library had paid off. Draco shifted his expression to one of a slightly more concerned look. He mouthed to her that Iris would be safe. She nodded back gently. They both looked around in a quiet sort of awe of what they were a part of. It was difficult to believe what had transpired since she had been at the waterfall.
They had expected weeks more. They were going to be planning for Berlin. Hermione mused. Perhaps it was better it had been so fast. No one had the chance to get the nerves. Albus had been serene at the news Riddle was throwing all his toys out of the pram. Angry people make mistakes. Perhaps that was why. Riddle had messed up big time.
She felt a yawn coming. Fatigue had caught up with her. She looked around. Other people in the pods were settling down. The bubbles were very comfortable. Draco settled down next to her. It sounded like something was definitely happening on the other side of the portal. Time was passing. Hermione looked at her watch again. Still half ten. Her eyes felt heavy. She drifted off into oblivion with the others.
Luna was the last one to go to sleep. She closed her eyes with a big smile on her face.
How much time had passed, no one was sure of. They awoke refreshed. Calm. A little disoriented at the sight of the bubbles and the white light but they quickly came to their senses. Hermione stretched. She looked across at Crookshanks who was doing the same. Draco was moving his arms and blinking. The pods began to move. They could hear the steady heartbeat coming from beyond the portal. Hermione sat up straight. She checked her watch. It had started again. It was showing seven thirty-two.
Rebirth. Regeneration. She repeated the mantra in her mind. They drifted through the white light. Hermione took a deep breath. She had speculated wildly about what they would find. They were certainly heading somewhere. She glanced at the others. She wasn't alone which was a comfort. They were certainly not dead. Iris was safe somewhere. They'd find her.
All eyes were facing forwards as they moved out of the white light. Hermione gasped. It looked exactly like the view from the tunnel to Equilibrium. The stars were everywhere. Bright and twinkling. They lit the cosmos up. The Astronomy department was certainly going to need a massive overview. They kept gliding forward. Draco was looking around with a keen eye. He could see the sun. Just the one.
He breathed a small sigh of relief. He needed to make sure they hadn't taken the express to Equilibrium. The stars had thrown him. They glided further along. Hermione could see the moon. This moon looked white and gleaming. Like new. Her eyes widened. She turned her head sharply. She could see the Earth now. Except it looked different. She stared intently as they moved closer. She could make out the shapes she recognised. The world wasn't brand new. It was way past the Pangaea Era, but the oceans were bluer than she could ever recall.
Iris had mentioned fleeting images of seeing beautiful worlds. As they moved closer Hermione felt this was one of the worlds Iris had seen. She glanced across at the other bubbles coming down. There were thousands of them. This Earth was slowly turning like normal. They were gliding down at a deceptively fast pace as they went through the stratosphere. Hermione couldn't help but brace herself as they went through the troposphere but she felt no pressure. These bubbles were clearly designed for this.
Her eyes were darting everywhere. She could see the outline of Africa. The Asian outline was prominent as they moved closer. She put her hands on the bubble. They were moving closer now. Bubbles were grouping. Thousands had moved across to Africa. Other bubbles were moving to Asia. Hermione kept moving forward. She could see the European outline. And then, 'Home,' she whispered.
She saw the odd-shaped little island off the mainland. She could register that other bubbles were veering off into the mainland but her focus was on Britain. She had thought she would never see it ever again. She had prepared for it. Prepared for anything really. Aliens even. Star wars type planets. She caught Draco's eyes who subtly wiped the tears from them as he smiled at her.
The others were grinning widely. They had prepared for the worst so this was more than they could have hoped for. The bubbles slowed down the closer they got to land. It looked like it was moving their group up to Scotland. The bubbles were returning them to where they had been picked up. They were going back to Hogwarts. Hermione's heart leapt.
They glided past forests and fields. Lakes and flowers. A unicorn near her had their nose pressed against the bubble in earnest. Hermione's sharp eyes could make out a gleaming white castle. Was that Valinor? It wasn't under any wards yet. Had it been rebuilt? Who would have done that? The elves had talked of it often. It truly was marvellous to look at. The lands that surrounded it were resplendent in colour.
They each watched hundreds of the bubbles make their way down. On landing, they appeared to simply pop as the residents stood shakily. Centaurs and elves stood with the unicorns as they gazed around with joy. Hermione had her hand on her mouth. If Valinor was here.. Their unconventional travel method took them on, over the mountains. The little village of Hogsmead greeted them. Another collection of bubbles meandered down. Madam Rosmerta was looking delighted at seeing her pub once again.
Hermione couldn't believe what she was seeing. The village looked a little smaller than it had but otherwise much the same as when they had left. Her heart started to thump as they moved higher. Her eyes saw the black lake first and then in all its grandeur stood Hogwarts. She gaped at the sight. The mountains around the castle didn't look the same. Neither did the castle, but it was unequivocally Hogwarts, right down to the boathouse.
The air looked clear. There were no landslides. No sign of the carnage that had taken place. None of the damage. No sign of Riddle's twisted followers and their tanks and bombs. Hermione couldn't understand how this was happening. The bubble took her gently down back to the courtyard where it popped open for her. Like the others, she took a moment to find her feet.
She breathed the air in deeply to be sure and felt the fresh air in her lungs. Others were doing the same. She moved over to the castle wall and gingerly put her hand out to touch it. She smiled. It was real. She could feel the smooth, cool stone under her fingertips. She saw the Potter's doing the same. Lily and James were looking flush now. With time to think perhaps they had both begun to draw the same conclusions as she had.
Draco was hugging all of the Greengrass sisters with great enthusiasm. It was a mess of tangled arms. Hagrid and Fang both looked relieved to be back on solid ground. Molly Weasley had just completed a headcount and was now snuggling up to her husband with great enthusiasm. All the Weasley's were present and in one piece.
Pansy and the rest of the Slytherin gang all looked like little kids on Christmas morning. She genuinely had never been sure they had the capacity to look so earnestly happy. They could hear the birds in the sky. Hermione looked around at all the people here. She even saw the goblins looking happy with their large, toothy grins as they hugged each other.
Albus was like the others. Wide-eyed as he stood with the two Minerva's. They all had many questions but for this one brief moment, it sufficed that somehow Hogwarts was still standing.
Their world had been restored to its former glory and they vowed that never again would Riddle and his deranged army darken its green and pleasant lands ever again.