AU!
Written for Gift-Giving Extravaganza 2021: RowenaHermioneRavenclaw
Prompts:
Regulus/Hermione
Soulmate AU
Time Travel
WRITTEN FOR QLFC, RESERVE LEAGUE
SEASON 7, ROUND: Finals
Beater 1: The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern.
Using Widget and Poppy as inspiration. In The Night Circus, they're twins with particular magic skills dealing with time. One can see people's pasts, and the other can see the future.
WC: 2510
September 19, 1979
"Master Regulus, don't do this...please," Kreacher begged, tears streaming down his face. He clutched onto Regulus's arm and desperately bargained, "Kreacher will find another way. Kreacher promises."
"No, Kreacher," Regulus choked out, doubling over in pain. Slytherin's locket hung from his hand, its presence overwhelming him in the large cave.
The moment Regulus had picked up the locket from the bowl, images of a little girl with brown curls and buck-teeth growing up into a beautiful young woman had assaulted his mind's eye. He saw her blood-streaked face as she ran through a forest. He saw her sitting outside a little tent, staring at the locket with a look of pure longing. Then, he found himself looking at an older version of himself lying on the beach, cupping her face, and tilting his head up to kiss her under the light of the setting sun.
He knew she was his soulmate. How else could he have seen her and the future? At that moment, Regulus had known what he needed to do.
Regulus murmured, "I have to do this. This is my destiny."
"But, Master—" Kreacher helped him sit up against the sarsen upon which the empty bowl sat.
"No, Kreacher," Regulus reiterated. His vision was turning fuzzy, but he forced himself to be strong for just a few more seconds. "I know what I'm doing. You have to promise me something…"
"Anything," Kreacher sobbed, wringing his hands.
Regulus thought about how hard it must be for his house-elf to see him in such pain and not be able to do anything about it. But Regulus knew he needed to do this. He clutched onto the locket with both hands.
An image of voluminous brown curls, chocolate-brown eyes, and a toothy smile flashed in his mind, and Regulus closed his eyes as if the loss of sight would allow him to hold onto that image for a moment longer.
His stomach cramped, and Regulus gasped. He clenched his fingers around the locket and closed his eyes. He projected his thoughts into the locket, knowing that whenever the girl found the necklace, she would know what to do.
Come and find me, brown-eyed girl.
He grabbed Kreacher's hand and shoved the locket into it. "Promise me you'll try to destroy this. If you can't, keep it safe. Keep it hidden. Only give it to your next master. No one else."
Big fat tears dripped down Kreacher's large nose as he clutched the locket to his chest. "Kreacher promises, Master Regulus."
Regulus nodded, barely hanging onto his strength. The pain slowly slithered up his lungs, and it was getting difficult to breathe. Regulus needed water, and there was only one place to get it from. "Now, go…Leave this place, Kreacher. I command it."
Kreacher suddenly threw his arms around Regulus's neck, and Regulus closed his eyes, stealing some comfort from the small gesture. Kreacher pulled away before popping away with the locket in hand.
Regulus crawled towards the water, his heart pounding against his ribcage. The lake's clear water shimmered in the dim moonlight, but Regulus knew what was inside. He had seen what awaited him under the deceptively calm surface. But he had also seen his brown-eyed girl.
It was only the thought of his future that kept him going.
She was what kept him going.
Regulus's hand shook as his fingers touched the cold water, and ripples spread across the lake.
At first, there was silence. And then, all of a sudden, a deathly pale skeletal hand shot out of the water and grabbed Regulus's wrist. His heart thundered, but he didn't attempt to pull away, knowing it was futile. This was his plan.
As an army of gaunt, skeletal beings crawled out of the dark water, their white and cloudy eyes locked in on his form, Regulus didn't fight as they dragged him underwater. As the cold water bubbled out of his mouth, the self-healing potion he had drank earlier that day began to work its magic. Tendrils of magic wrapped themselves around Regulus's body like a warm cocoon, and Regulus relaxed. He closed his eyes and sank to the bottom of the lake.
As the water churned around him like a whirlpool, a smile appeared on his face.
I'm coming.
June 25, 1999
Hermione stood in front of the mouth of the cave, glancing around to make sure she was at the right place. Her hair frizzed up as the salty air blew through it, and she ignored it, knowing it would be a waste to smooth it down. She had more important things to do.
Hermione glanced down at the remnants of Slytherin's locket in her hand and clenched her fingers around it, closing her eyes as warmth washed over her. An image of dark hair and darker eyes flitted across her mind, and her breath hitched.
Come and find me, brown-eyed girl.
He was her soulmate. It was the only explanation as to why she could see him and his past.
The moment Harry had handed her the fake Horcrux, images of the black-haired young man had bombarded her from all sides. She had seen him growing up in a house she had immediately recognised as Grimmauld Place. She had seen his pain as he tried his best to be perfect. She had even seen him joining Voldemort and betraying him.
Her heart had immediately known the truth. Her soulmate was alive. The thought of finding and saving him had kept her going through the war, and as soon as she had brought her parents back from Australia, Hermione had begun looking for ways to rescue him from the lake.
She was so close.
Hermione looked back at the rocky cliffs dotting the side of the coast, and she recognised it from what the locket had Shown her. She dropped the locket into the small pouch hanging around her waist and took a deep breath. She slipped her wand into her hand and walked into the cave.
This was it.
She approached the wall of the cave and touched it with her fingers, feeling for enchantments. She paused over a large slab of stone and closed her eyes, the Dark magic nudging against hers. She immediately understood that the entrance was hidden.
She pointed her wand at the wall and tried to blast it open. The spell rebounded and Hermione ducked to avoid being hit by the spell. She scowled and attempted a few more spells, but nothing seemed to work.
She walked closer and ran her hand over the jagged stones jutting out of the wall. Before she could pull her hand away, her palm caught on one of the rocks, and she hissed. She yanked her hand away quickly, but the damage was done.
Her blood slowly trickled down the rock, and a blazing silver outline of an arch appeared in the wall. Hermione gasped and whispered, "Blood magic…"
The rock vanished, leaving an opening towards total darkness. Hermione cast a Lumos and slowly made her way into the opening. A few seconds later, she came across a strange sight.
A misty green-tinged light shone far away onto what looked to be the middle of a great black lake. The water was perfectly still, but Hermione had seen what lay underneath.
Inferi.
Hermione walked closer to the edge of the lake, her heart pounding against her ribs. She pushed her hand into her pocket, her fingers finding the locket again.
A flash of wavy black hair and dark eyes flitted across her mind's eye. Hermione closed her eyes.
I'll find you.
She raised her wand and looked around to find anything that might help her in her quest, but she came up with nothing. There was nothing in the cave except for the stony wall and the glossy lake.
If Harry had been here, Hermione knew he would have dove deep into the lake without hesitation, but she was not Harry. She was Hermione, and she always had a plan.
She crouched down near the water's edge, held her wand in between her teeth, and started to look through her pouch. Pulling out two thin vials, one with neon-green liquid and the other with baby-blue slime, she glanced at the lake before whispering, "I'm sorry, but I have no choice."
Hermione popped the cork off the blue vial and chugged down the slimy substance, gagging as the taste of incredibly soured milk and runny egg yolks overwhelmed her taste buds. She clenched her eyes shut and forced herself to keep drinking.
A tingling wave washed over her, and she shivered. She looked down at her hands and was relieved to see her skin glowing a soft blue. It meant that the potion was working. She waited for a few more moments, checking to make sure her whole body glowed.
Then, Hermione stepped towards the lake and dipped her toe into the cold water. The ripples spread towards the middle of the lake, and a hand shot out to grab her ankle. Hermione shot away just in time and quickly popped the cork off the other vial, readying herself.
The army of Inferi crawled out of the water as one, and Hermione raised her hand, waiting, waiting, waiting…
The moment the creatures were all on land, creeping towards her, their gnarly hands outstretched, Hermione flung the vial of green liquid at them.
As soon as the vial hit the ground, it shattered. A neon-green fire blazed through the ranks of the Inferi, lighting the cave with a garish intensity. Their shrieks reverberated through the cave as they stumbled around. The fire didn't harm them; however, as they were Dark creatures, they loathed the light.
She shaded her eyes against the brightness and stormed through their ranks. The blue glow around her worked as a shield and saved her from the flames. She shoved them away and made her way into the lake. The water was freezing, but Hermione quickly cast a Warming Charm on her body, a Bubble-Head Charm around her head, and dove right in.
Even though the Inferi stumbled into the water, the green flames weren't extinguished, and the blazing light allowed Hermione to see into the dark depths of the lake. She found herself surprisingly grateful for the books about Grey magic she had found in the library in Grimmauld Place.
The muscles in her legs burned, but Hermione continued to swim. Her eyes had to refocus in the darkness as the Inferi didn't follow her to the bottom.
There was a dark figure at the bottom, and Hermione's heart began to pound furiously. She swam faster to get to the lake bed.
A black cocoon of magical tendrils lay on the floor of the lake. Hermione knelt on the sandy bed and reached her hand out to touch it. The tendrils sparked under her fingers. A flash of the black-haired young man smiling and closing his eyes flashed through her mind.
I'm coming. The words echoed in her mind.
Hermione cast a charm to lighten the cocoon's weight and wrapped her arms around it. Her eyes grew wide when the tendrils began to slowly unravel.
They broke through the surface of the lake, and Hermione quickly cancelled out the Bubble-Head Charm. She dragged the half-unravelled cocoon towards the edge of the lake. The Inferi were shrieking and stumbling around, their bodies still on fire.
Hermione gasped as her legs almost gave out on her. She clutched the quickly unravelling cocoon towards her chest and carried it through the cave, dodging the Inferi and the accompanying leaping flames.
If Harry and Ron had been there with her, Hermione knew they would have joked about how she looked like a blue angel climbing out of Hell or something equally ridiculous. They were her boys, but she sometimes wondered if they had been dropped on the head a few times (knowing their backgrounds, she had a strong feeling the answer was yes).
The smoke choked her, and she gasped for breath. She caught sight of her hands and realised the blue glow was receding. The cocoon wasn't burning because it was obviously magical, but if she didn't get out soon, it wouldn't be long before the flames engulfed her and burnt her to a crisp.
Her eyes watered and itched because of the dense green smoke, but she forced herself to continue struggling up the stairs through the dark opening. The moment she reached the antechamber, she hoisted the unconscious man up into her arms bridal-style and ran towards the mouth of the cave as the flames grew higher, swallowing everything in their reach.
Reaching the edge of the cliff, Hermione clutched the man's limp body to her chest and closed her eyes, thinking of the beach just a few hundred metres away. With a loud pop, she Apparated away from the cave and left the raging inferno of green behind her.
Her knees hit the sand, and the concentrated scent of salty air assaulted her nose. As the waves crashed over them and the sun began to slowly set over the horizon, Hermione fell onto her elbows and took in some much-needed oxygen. She closed her eyes and rested her head on her hands, ignoring her wet clothes.
A cold hand found its way into her hair, and Hermione's head shot up. Her eyes widened when she met the warm dark gaze of the man she had just rescued.
His black hair was plastered to his angular face, his skin was flushed, and his dark eyes reflected the light of the setting sun. An overwhelming longing to kiss him filled her; Hermione had never seen a more handsome man in her life.
"You saved me," he whispered, his voice hoarse. His eyes darkened as he took her in, and then, his hands were on her face.
Hermione gasped as his lips claimed hers with a fiery intensity that matched the flames she had left behind in the cave. His mouth moved against hers easily, as if they had been kissing all their lives. The strange yearning she had felt since the moment she had touched the locket turned into contentment, and a soft click sounded in her head; Hermione's soul had recognised him.
When they finally parted, the man's lips turned up in a slow and sensual smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you, my brown-eyed girl. I'm Regulus Black."
Hermione's face warmed at the nickname he had given her. It sounded so suggestive. "I'm Hermione Granger," she stammered, trying to compose herself.
His smile stretched wider, and he cupped her face again, his touch lighting her nerves on fire.
Why was she so attracted to him? Attraction this strong to someone she didn't know seemed unnatural even though she believed in soulmates.
Did other people feel the same when they met their soulmates? Hermione didn't know, but she was sure of one thing.
Her future was entwined with Regulus's, and she couldn't wait to see what happened next.