Chapter 14: Stay in Motion

May 15, 1998, Friday

"Looks good," Healer Halley said. "I'm going to release the immobilizing charms."

Hermione nodded and waited. Feeling seemed to come back all at once. She held her breath and waited for pain. When none came she leaned her head back in relief.

"Good, that's good," Halley said to himself, then looked up at her. "Ready to try walking?"

"Really? By myself?"

"Yep."

She watched him step back to give her space, while staying close enough to catch her if she fell. Gingerly, she sat and shifted to sit on the side of the bed. Looking down, she checked to make sure her scar hadn't opened up again. Then she pushed herself up and stood. Her legs felt shaky after such a long recovery.

"No pain?" Halley asked.

"No," she answered and walked toward the open door of the spare room. Looking around, she found Harry sitting at the dining room table.

"Hey there. Look at you," Harry said, got up and went to her.

"I'm going to leave the wheelchair with you in case you need it. If you feel dizzy, sit down. If you're tired, take a nap. I know that sounds like common sense, but you can't power through recovery. You need to listen to your body and don't overdo it," Halley explained.

"I understand. Thank you. Again. For everything," Hermione said.

"Make an appointment to see me next week. I can show myself out," he said and turned toward the living room fireplace.

"How are you feeling?"

"Tired," she said honestly. "Sorry, I must have fallen asleep last night before you got home."

"I didn't want to wake you. I slept on the couch."

"You didn't need to, you could have gone up to our room," she said and let him help her sit in her usual chair. Gerty appeared and served up oatmeal, berries, toast and tea. "Thank you, Gerty."

"I wanted to be close in case you needed me," Harry explained and returned to his seat across from her.

"Newt came by."

"I thought he might. Did he tell you about Bellatrix?" he asked. When she nodded he leaned back. "That's why I was so late. Thanks to him we have undeniable proof that Bellatrix didn't die at the final battle. Even with that new knowledge the tempus tomes have not changed."

"So that means this is what was always supposed to happen?"

"I'm not sure if it was always supposed to happen, but there are no detectable actions in the past that would have led to this result."

"Any leads on where she's hiding out?"

"No, I think she's close. Everything she needed to modify the time turner she took from local sources. If she was comfortable operating somewhere else, she would have been safer stealing from places further away. I think she's trying very hard to avoid detection."

"From the Aurors or the Unspeakables?"

"Both." They sat in silence. The ramifications sinking in. Finally, he decided to broach the subject that he had been avoiding. He had actually been relieved when he got home and found her sleeping. It gave him more time to formulate his arguments. "Gilford made a new time turner."

"He did? Like the prototype Bellatrix is using?"

"I think so. It sounds like it operates the same way. He's testing it now. It should be ready on Monday."

Hermione studied him. "Ready for who?"

"Whom."

She stared at him.

"Me. I'm going to use it," he admitted.

"To go where?"

"When," he corrected.

"Harry, I swear on Merlin's beard I will stun you," she said and took out her wand to prove her intention.

"Okay," he said, holding up his hands. "I'm going to use my invisibility cloak to witness the final duel with Molly and Bellatrix. See if there's some clue about how she survived."

"How long? In the past, can you stay?"

"One hour."

She nodded. "You'll stay under the cloak?"

"The whole time. I'll be there to observe and nothing else."

"Where else?" she asked. He smiled, looked at her wand, and opened his mouth to correct her. She rolled her eyes. "When else?"

"1996 to try to determine if Bellatrix has a Ministry prototype or a new time turner. And 1980. I need to talk to Cassandra. We need to determine how she received the memory of the final battle."

"Okay. Okay," she said to herself. Getting comfortable with the risk. Thinking through the time turner question she had a terrible thought. "Harry."

"I know."

"Harry," her voice trembled with emotion. "Sirius…"

"I know," he fought back tears. Her reaction was making it harder. "I need to go back to that night and see if the prototype is there when the cabinet is destroyed."

"You can't save him," she warned.

"I know!" Harry shouted and stood. He turned his back on her and looked out the window. "I know."

She felt incredibly guilty. After all, hadn't she saved Albus. Who was she to lecture him about changing the past? She stood and wrapped her arms around his waist, leaned her head on his back. "I'm sorry. I'm worried it will be too hard for you to be there. Knowing what's going to happen. Can someone else go?"

"Maybe," he relented and turned. "I'll cross that bridge when I come to it." He studied her. She was pale and he guessed it wasn't all due to her recovery. She had spent too much time reading and studying reports. They both needed a break. "Maybe we can take the weekend off?"

"Hmm, and what would we do with a whole weekend off?"

He ran his thumb over her engagement ring. "We do have a wedding to plan."

"And a honeymoon," she added. They both smiled.

~~/~~

Hermione finished her last notes on her memos to the Minister. Her set of priorities were clearly identified and the steps she intended to take were summarized. She assumed he would have inputs and recommendations, still it would be a good starting point. Sealing it up, she found Artemis looking at her expectantly on her perch. "Hey friend, this needs to get to the Minister for Magic's office today," she told her, attaching the rolled parchment to her tarsus. Before the owl took off, Hermione gave her a treat. Artemis nibbled affectionately at her fingers and was on her way.

With that done, she felt suddenly at a loss of what to do. Walking into the kitchen she found Gerty stirring a large pot. "Master Hermione! Gerty is just finishing up some chili. It's going to be cold tonight. Do you want cornbread or sourdough?"

"Cornbread sounds great, thanks. When that's ready, I wonder if you want to run a few errands for me."

Gerty perked up, excited at the prospect. "Whatever Master Hermione wants, Gerty can do."

"Harry and I need to start planning dates and venues for our wedding. It would be good to have information from locations in London. Can I give you a list of places to visit and get some brochures so we can consider our options?"

It looked like Gerty was so excited she was going to explode.

"If you think of a place not on my list you can go there too and get us availability and cost."

That pushed her over the edge. Gerty started jumping up and down. "Gerty has so many ideas. Oh, there are so many venues," she said and started ticking off locations.

Hermione was about to tell her not to go overboard but decided it was too late. "Let's keep it to the top ten places in London."

The house elf stopped jumping. "Top ten? Gerty can do that. What if the ceremony and dinner locations need to be different?"

"Ok. The top ten venues for the ceremony and the top ten for the reception. But that's it."

As Gerty rushed to finish the chili, Hermione heard her murmur to herself, "Twelve rounds down to ten."

Hermione smiled and didn't correct her. Quickly making a list of places she had been considering, she left it on the counter and went to the study. She didn't quite know what to do with herself. No work, no studying, she realized she could finally read for fun. Next to the desk, she saw a stack of Daily Prophets. She knew why Harry read them everyday and why he kept them, he was looking for information about the fugitive Death Eaters. Curious, she flipped through the stack and found the May 8th edition. As expected, on the front page was a picture of her and the Minister. What surprised her was the headline: The Minister's Unconventional Choice. "Well, that could be worse," she said to herself and against better judgement started reading.

In Minister Shacklebolt's first major announcement since the week after the war ended, he announced the formation of a new department, the Department for Ministry Reconstruction. Billed as a progressive organization tasked with the herculean effort to review all Ministry policies and recommending changes to build a more just Ministry of Magic.

One would think that the person chosen to lead such an ambitious task would be a seasoned witch or wizard with decades of institutional knowledge. That couldn't be further from the truth. On Friday morning, in the presence of national and international media and an audience of hundreds of dedicated Ministry employees, the Minister appointed Hermione Granger to the post. Our readers are not unfamiliar with Ms. Granger. Part of the famed golden trio, her heroics during the war have been whispered about and speculated over. In the month since the second fall of Voldemort, Ms. Granger has appeared unwilling to confirm or deny the fantastical rumors. This changed on Friday. She appeared fully aware that her appointment would be questioned and criticized. In an effort to address those concerns before they gained momentum, she decided to tell all. Live, and to an international wizarding audience.

If her story is to be believed, the heroics assigned to her have not been misplaced. We at the Daily Prophet intend to validate her claims in the coming weeks. Perhaps the most shocking revelation by far was her assertion that she, and not Albus Dumbledore, changed the past and as a result saved his life. If true, Albus Dumbledore, an escaped prisoner from Azkaban, should have never been imprisoned in the first place. This has many asking the question why Ms. Granger allowed her former Headmaster to be imprisoned for a crime she committed. The follow up question fewer people are asking is if a witch, who had been willing to allow an innocent man to go to prison for her crimes, should be employed at the Ministry, let alone serve in the Minister's Cabinet.

Hermione stopped reading and folded up the paper. She didn't know what she was expecting from the Daily Prophet. Of course they would look for the most salacious angle possible. She worried what their investigation would entail to prove the details of her story. Shaking her head, she decided she didn't really care. They could dig into her past all they wanted. It was no longer a secret in her mind.

~~/~~

May 16, 1998 Saturday

Hermione was very glad to wake up in her own bed. The spare room was comfortable but it wasn't the same. Rolling on to her side, she was surprised to see Harry was already up. She blamed her recovery, knowing the wound may have been on the mend, she still wasn't totally right yet either. It wasn't an unfamiliar feeling. Catching her reflection in the mirror she was mildly horrified. Her hair hadn't been a high priority. That was going to change that morning. She started the shower and took her time. It was Saturday after all. The hot water hit her sore muscles. As each minute passed she felt the stress from the previous two weeks slide off her and she imagined them circling the drain before leaving her for good. Finally, she decided she needed to get out. Using several hair smoothing potions, she let them sit for a few minutes while she got dressed. A flannel and blue jeans was called for, she thought. Harry had been avoiding contact that wasn't related to moving her from the bed to the wheelchair and back. She decided the abstinence was going to end that day too. Using her wand she dried her hair and then finished up, running the enchanted brush through the smoothed curls.

Not bad, she thought studying herself in the mirror. She unbuttoned another shirt button. Better.

As expected, Hermione found Harry sitting in his spot at the table with his paper and coffee. What was a bit of a surprise was a fully dressed breakfast. "What's all this?" she asked, sitting across from him.

He looked up, smiled, and then studied her. He clearly liked the look. "Gerty thought you might be ready for something different. I almost brought you breakfast in bed, then thought maybe you were sick of being in bed."

Popping a berry in her mouth, she blinked. "I wouldn't be opposed to being back in bed later."

"Is that right?"

"M-hm," she hummed and slid into the seat next to him.

"Master Hermione! Gerty is so glad you're up," the house elf flew into the room. Pausing, she seemed to sense she had interrupted something. Her eyes narrowed and she glared at Harry. "Gerty can come back."

Hermione winked at Harry, her hand slid over his thigh out of view. "No need. We're just getting started. What do you need?"

Harry swallowed the higher Hermione's hand crept.

Gerty perked up. "I have all the information you asked for. I wanted to tell you about the top ten venues for the wedding and the dinner. Gerty has dates, prices, and details for each one."

"Maybe," Harry squeaked when Hermione's ministrations hit a particularly sensitive spot. He cleared his throat. "Maybe we can read everything first and then talk it over."

"Harry," Hermione scolded while she felt her touch was having the desired effect. "Gerty went through a lot of trouble collecting all this data. We should listen."

"Hermione," he pleaded. "I'd...uh… really like a shower first. And then, Gerty we can really focus on your presentation."

"A cold shower?" Hermione asked as she started adding food to a plate with her free hand.

When he stood, he was holding the Daily Prophet in front of his crotch. Embarrassed for the house elf to know he had an erection. "Hermione," his voice had a higher squeak to it than before. "I could use your help. With something. Gerty give us thirty minutes?"

Hermione stood and took his hand. "Maybe an hour," she said while she pulled him up the stairs.

The doors were barely closed before Harry's lips attacked hers. His tongue slipped between her teeth as her hands flew up and her fingers ran through his hair. His mouth traveled down her neck, and she tilted her head to the side to give him better access.

She was pulling on his shirt, trying to get it over his head when he stopped her. He was breathing heavily. "Are you sure you're ready?"

When she smiled mischievously, "I know you're ready."

He laughed. "I'm guessing you're ready, but are you sure you're healed enough for this? I don't want to hurt you."

She unbuttoned his jeans. "I guess we could call Healer Halley and ask him if I'm cleared for sex." His face went red at the thought and she laughed at his discomfort. "Really, Harry. We're engaged. It won't come as a shock to people that we're having sex."

He picked her up and threw her gently on the bed. "We don't have to give them a reason to think about it. Do we?" he asked, unbuttoning her shirt completely and exposing her bare breasts. His hands skimmed her sides and studied the new scar. The healing wound was still bruised around the edges from the uncontrolled bleeding and the closed edges were pink and raised. He leaned over her stomach and placed small kisses along the angry scar.

"Harry, I'm okay," she told him and pulled his face up to look at her.

Tears filled his eyes. "This time."

"Yes. And there might be a next time. We didn't choose to be in the middle of any of this, but we can't not fight and just let it happen. Just stop. Stop thinking. Stop worrying and show me you love me."

Finally, he gave in. The barriers he had locked in place when he learned she was injured again dissolved. He knew she wasn't fragile, still he never wanted to be the reason she was in pain. So he let her dictate the pace, let her show him what she needed. He was surprised when he finally realized she was giving him what he needed. It was slow and reminded them both what mattered. Them. In that moment. Everything else was out of focus and unimportant.

Afterward, they were still on top of the covers. Hermione pressing her back against his chest. He kissed the scar on her shoulder. She rolled over to look at him. "Harry. I know you see these marks as a reminder of what Voldemort did to me. I see them now and I see what I survived. I survived it all. The scar tissue is stronger than the tissue before the wound. That's me. I'm stronger for it all. Nothing he did to me made me more breakable."

He kissed her forehead and pulled her toward him. "I know. I didn't think you were breakable. Sometimes, I think I am."

She let him hold her. Marveled at the safety of his embrace. Finally, she loosened her arms. "If we stay up here much longer, Gerty might come looking for us."

"Yeah. She seemed pretty excited. To be fair, this is your fault."

Hermione rolled out of bed and picked up her discarded shirt. She put it in the laundry basket. "I better find something less sexy if we're going to make it through this morning."

He laughed and found his own clothes. "I mean unless you have a nun's habit in your closet I'm not sure we have a good solution."

With a small grin, she walked to his closet. Pulling on a long sleeve henley shirt, she turned to model it.

He growled. "Pants. Maybe with pants."

When they decided they looked presentable they returned to the dining room. The table was still set for breakfast. Harry rewarmed the food and sat.

Hermione turned to find Gerty, yelped when the house elf appeared directly in front of her.

"Gerty wondered if you might want to do this tomorrow? When you're not so… busy," the house elf asked.

Harry couldn't stop the laugh. "No, Gerty. We're good now. Took care of business."

"Master Hermione should sit next to Master Harry so Gerty can use this wall. If you think you can keep your hands to yourself," Gerty said, getting down to business. She snapped her fingers and two maps appeared on the wall. One of London, the other of the United Kingdom. Dots peppered the maps showing locations for the wedding ceremony.

Hermione dropped her toast. "Gerty, I said the top ten places in London."

She nodded in affirmation. "If Master Hermione would count, she would see there are only ten places in London." Smugly, she started her explanation and availability of each dot.

Both Harry and Hermione realized this is what they were doing for the rest of the weekend.

~~/~~

May 18, 1998 Monday

It had taken all weekend. With so many decisions to make and each one effecting the next they finally narrowed down a more central location. Northumberland. Hermione fell in love with a small, private venue in Otterburn. It was primarily a muggle venue, but there was a limited magical calendar. The owners were both non-magical but came from wizarding families. Hermione liked the accommodation and thought her parents would be more comfortable at a place that understood their position.

Harry liked that it was small and private with rooms on site allowing all guests to stay over the entire weekend. He wasn't planning on a large ceremony and definitely didn't want a media spectacle. They both agreed, only people invited would know the date and location. Only people they trusted to keep such information secret would be invited.

Harry was so happy he was having a hard time focusing on the safety briefing from Gilford.

"Oi, Harry! Pay attention," Tonks scolded.

"Sorry, right. So we're going to go to Hogwarts. I'll use the time turner there. Use it to take me back ten minutes before Bellatrix dies. I'll find a spot nearby to watch. If I see evidence of what happened, I'll follow the evidence. If not, I'll just stay put and wait for the time turner to take me back. I'll have my cloak on the whole time and won't interact with anyone or anybody," Harry summarized.

Gilford nodded. He gave Harry a note with the precise turns required to arrive at the desired time. "Dumbledore is expecting you and knows the plan. Aberforth agreed to temporarily connect his floo to the atrium network," Gilford explained.

"You're not coming with?" Harry asked, surprised.

"No. I'm going to get ready for the next event. 1996. If you don't mind Harry. I'll do that one. Fiona and I discussed some of the issues you might run into in the department of mysteries and it would be better if she or I took that task."

Harry shared a look with Tonks. It was clear she was also concerned about sending Harry back to the night his godfather was killed. "Yeah, that makes sense. We'll come right back here with the time turner."

"Excellent. Safe travels," the older wizard got back to his notes.

Tonks followed Harry through the hallway to the elevator and up to the atrium. When they got to the floo network, she caught his arm. "Out with it."

Confusion etched his face. "Out with what?"

"Whatever has you distracted. I'm not letting you go back to that battle with your head in the clouds."

He rolled his eyes. "My head isn't in the clouds."

"Could have fooled me. Is Hermione alright?"

"Yeah. Of course. Clean bill of health from Saint Mungo's. She can't apparate for another week, but she's good. She's great."

Tonks tapped her toe.

Harry finally relented. "If you have to know, we spent the weekend planning for the wedding and um… practicing for the honeymoon."

"Did you now? Had a nice romantic weekend?"

He nodded with a goofy grin on his face. Then Tonks slapped the back of his head. "Ow. Bloody hell, Tonks."

"Get your head in the game. I'm not going to be the one to tell Hermione why her fiancé isn't going to make it to said wedding or the honeymoon for that matter."

"Okay, okay," Harry relented. They both stepped into the fireplace and stepped out at the Hogshead. After Harry shook off the soot, he glared at his partner. "Aren't you even curious about where we decided to have the wedding?"

"You're right. This is more important than your life. Tell me, will there be a fish option?" she asked sarcastically, leading him from the pub.

"We actually didn't get to the menu yet—"

She slapped him again.

"Tonks, I'm good. I've got this. They let Hermione do this in her third year."

"Oh, they sent Hermione to one of the deadliest battles in recent wizarding history did they? In her third year?"

"I'm not naïve. I know where I'm going. I know the risks," he told her.

"Alright then. Just act like it," Tonks relented.

When they saw the castle, Harry couldn't help but feel like he was returning home. There were still angry scorch marks marring some of the stone. If he had to guess, the teachers would have been able to repair the castle by now. Most likely, they had decided to enlist the students' help. Using the repairs as both a teaching lesson and an opportunity for themselves to heal. He knew that's why Ron went back anyway. They found Dumbledore waiting at the footpath bridge.

"Professor," Harry greeted him. "Gilford said you knew the plan?"

"I do. And after looking over your reports, I think I found the best place for you to go back. It will put you close to the duel but out of danger," he said and led them into the school and across the courtyard.

The familiar sounds of laughter and excitement drifted from open windows and over walls. From what Ginny had told them those sounds had been squashed quite ruthlessly the previous term. It was another reason Harry couldn't really forgive Snape. He didn't have to turn the school into a military prison camp. It didn't have to be joyless. Walking through the entrance hall and into the Great Hall, Harry fought back emotions. Six years of memories. The start of term. Holiday meals. End of year house standings. Then his mind's eye reminded him of those last minutes of the battle. He wove through Death Eaters, Order members, students, house elves… under the same cloak he had with him that day. All to find Voldemort, knowing he was no longer protected by his Horcruxes.

"Harry?" Dumbledore got his attention. He was standing at the back of the hall, behind a pillar near the staff table.

Peering around the pillar, Harry stepped closer. "You're kidding?" he asked, getting a look at a small broom closet.

"Turns out there was no damage in here," Albus explained. "And it will conceal you until you're ready."

"What time does Gilford say you should use the time turner?" Tonks asked.

Harry took out the slip of parchment. Then he looked at the clock at the front of the Hall. "Ten minutes. Nothing like cutting it close."

Dumbledore smiled. "Not everyone thinks about time the same way. Maybe he didn't want to give you too much to overthink anything."

They stood for a moment awkwardly. "I guess ten minutes can seem like a long time when all you have to do is wait," Harry admitted.

"How's Hermione?" Dumbledore asked, deciding he would help Harry settle down a bit.

"Good. Her injury is healed. She's still working from home this week. Just to be sure everything is okay before she apparates again."

"They got their wedding all planned this weekend," Tonks supplied helpfully.

Harry rolled his eyes. "We'll send out details. It's going to be small and private."

"And the date?" Dumbledore asked.

"August 22nd," he said sheepishly. "I know it's soon, but we don't want to prolong the engagement. There isn't really a reason, and we wanted to have it during the summer break to avoid conflicts here."

"I don't want to assume, but shall I mark my calendar?" Dumbledore said.

"I think Hermione would change the date if you wouldn't be able to attend then."

Dumbledore continued to pass the time explaining the goings on of the school year. Finally, the trio noted the time and Harry positioned himself in front of the broom closet. Taking the invisibility cloak out and the time turner, he looked at the small device. It was different than both types Hermione had used but he wasn't familiar enough with either to know how exactly. He put the chain around his neck, checked for his wand, and stepped into the tight space.

"Remember you'll return to this time at the spot you're at. It'll be best if you come back to the closet," Dumbledore instructed. "No heroics, only observations."

"I understand."

"Head in the game," Tonks reminded him.

He nodded and threw on the cloak. He took a deep breath, and turned the primary axis as instructed. He watched the central core spin, turn on its own, and finally when it stopped he heard the familiar sounds of dueling.

Opening the door a crack, he saw people pouring into the Great Hall. It took great effort for him to take his eyes off Voldemort and look for Bellatrix. Finally, he saw her. Ginny and Luna were trying their best, but the dark witch really was no match for either of them, alone or together. She seemed to be toying with them. Harry moved along the wall and around so he could be as close as possible to her. He didn't want to miss a single detail.

When Bellatrix sent the killing curse toward Ginny, he very nearly lept into action. Then he saw it wasn't needed. Molly was a force. The pair were matched jinx for jinx. The floor cracked under the heat and pressure. Harry saw something change on Bellatrix's face. Recognition. The prophecy. Harry watched her, refusing to even blink.

Molly sent a hex he didn't recognize. A red spark looked like it hit Bellatrix, but he watched it dissipate over a partial shield and a distortion started to cover Bellatrix from her head, moving quickly toward her feet. A vanishment charm. A spell hit the ceiling above them. Harry saw dust rain down. Just enough for it to cover her spell allowing him to see she had already retreated into a corner.

Everyone around who had been watching thought she was dead. Blown to pieces. Even Voldemort believed he had watched the demise of his most faithful soldier. His anger erupted, throwing Kinglsey, McGonagall, and Slughorn backward. Harry watched Dumbledore ran into the back entrance, Lupin on his heels. Harry saw it from his vantage point as well as his past memory, Voldemort was about to kill Dumbledore. A shield grew suddenly in the center of the room. Knowing what would happen, he tore his eyes off the main event and searched for Bellatrix. Was she still in the corner? Could he chance a silent spell to send more dust down on the spot? He decided it was too dangerous to time. Instead he focused his attention on the ground. He saw a rock shift for no apparent reason. And then another. She was moving through the battlefield.

No, he thought. She was moving away from the battlefield. Toward the exit. Once through the door, Harry lost her trail. There wasn't much rubble in the entrance hall. The doors were gone. He'd lost her. He tried to find her again but knew he was running out of time. He looked at the time turner core. It was ticking down for him on the innermost ring. Two minutes. It was enough. He confirmed she was alive and how it happened. Moving as fast as he could back to the broom closet. He heard cries of pain. People shouting names, trying to find missing friends. He slipped into the closet and waited. Finally the pull took him to the present.

Dumbledore and Tonks didn't even look like they moved. He took off the cloak and looked between the two. "She didn't die. She used a shield charm to manipulate a jinx and then a vanishment charm. I was able to follow her to the entrance hall but lost her. She got away."

"Ok, now we know. Let's find out how and when she got the time turner," Dumbledore said and then sat. "How did we miss this?"

"She had the prophecy and she figured out what it meant. Molly was going to kill her. She must have spent years perfecting her vanishment charm. It was fast, complete, and as perfect as I think I've ever seen."