Author's Note
Please forgive any spelling and/or grammar errors. I hope you enjoy it, please let me know what you think!
This is the sequel to Something. You probably need to read that first for this story to make sense. If you have already read it, hopefully, you'll enjoy seeing Remus and Hermione's journey continue through what was her sixth year.
PS I'm not J. K. Rowling, so I don't own anything :(
Chapter 1: Can Things Possibly Get Any Worse?
July 1996
Brockdale Bridge
Boom! The ground beneath Hermione's feet quivered, trembling as it gave a mighty heave. The rattling continued, and Hermione staggered, nearly falling to her knees. The blast shook the bridge she was poised on, but somehow it held fast.
For now.
Another hit like that though...
Scanning her surroundings, Hermione caught sight of two Death Eaters nearby. She'd lost track of the others in the immediate chaos.
"Stupefy!" she cried, attempting to Stun the closer of the two masked figures.
He threw up a shield, and her spell bounced harmlessly off the surface of the invisible barrier. The other hooded attacker continued merrily firing spells at the vehicles trapped on the bridge. Death Eaters were waiting at either end too, blocking any chance of forward progress or retreat. Flashes of brilliantly colored light were randomly being fired at the sitting ducks.
The sound of shattering glass rent the air, followed by a loud, piercing scream.
Before Hermione could locate the source of the distressed cry, she spun, ducking behind the guardrail just in time to avoid the curse he leveled her way. From between two of the metal and concrete pillars, she could make out Remus and Fred dueling five more Death Eaters at the far end of the bridge. Both appeared to be holding their own.
The three of them had been stationed at the bridge all morning, George staying in Diagon Alley to open the shop. Hermione had known the attack would happen that day. She just hadn't quite been able to recall when it happened, or if the Prophet even mentioned. The paper had been so far behind the times, reporting things weeks after they occurred more often than not.
She was truly beginning to hate how unreliable her memories were. If it had been a book rather than a newspaper, her memory would probably be pristine. Crisp and clear as the real thing.
Her memory had always been a source of pride for her. Able to retain even the most obscure information that others overlooked. But she'd deliberately blocked out most of the war once she was no longer in constant mortal peril. And now it was so much mist and whispers.
Another spell explored the concrete pillar to her right. Jagged gravel rocketed towards her, scratching the arms she hastily threw up to avoid getting a face-full of the sudden projectiles.
The attack, when it started a few minutes earlier, happened faster than she'd anticipated. Kingsley was supposed to have come as well, but the newly appointed Minister Scrimgeour had refused to give him leave from his new appointment guarding the Muggle Prime Minister. He also had Tonks following up on a Death Eater sighting near Wimbourne, which she should have been done with by now to join them. Except she'd still not arrived, so they were short on Order members to help avoid the disaster currently playing out before her eyes. At least as far as Order members that knew about her went.
"Impedimenta!" Hermione cried, missing when the Death Eater ducked behind a car. She didn't dare aim any closer for fear of making the now angrily smoking car ignite instead.
Hermione continued lobbing spell after spell at the two Death Eaters nearest as she silently cursed the Minister. He'd not taken the intel of an attack seriously when the pair of Aurors had refused to name the source of the information. It wasn't as though they could come right out and say their informant was from the future, and the Minister had become suspicious and started demanding to know if Harry was the one that had told them using his connection with Voldemort that everyone was suddenly believing he possessed.
It was the last, more than anything, that forced them to back off. Scrimgeour was far too eager to make Harry his poster boy, and was willing to use any in he could take advantage of to make it happen.
"Avada Kedavra!" one of the unknown Death Eaters cried delightedly. Repeatedly launching the Killing Curse at the front row of cars, and laughing dementedly when it caused the metal to melt and contort, the engines hissing and steaming more dangerously. Little plumes of smoke made the downcast day hazier than it already was. "Avada Kedavra! Avada Kadavra! Avada Kedavra!"
Through the windshields, Hermione could just make out the distorted expressions of terror on the occupants' faces. Hermione took aim, firing the Disarming spell, knowing he needed to be taken out before he succeeded.
Boom! A second blast sent the previously weakened bridge careening, and throwing off her aim. The riotous sounds of steel and cement grinding ominously tore the sky in two, rattling the heavens. The ground beneath her feet crumbled, so much shifting rumble.
Hermione Disapparated, reappearing on the bank beside Fred and Remus, who'd also Apparated to their designated meeting spot just into time to witness the support beams give way. Then the bridge was a slick and terrifying slide, the cars rolling steadily towards the dark, churning water some forty feet below.
The air was thick with dust, thick enough to cut, and difficult to see through. Distant shapes were a blur through the demolition fog, though the tragic scene was rapidly becoming sharper as ominous plunking began sounding. It wasn't happening in slow motion the way some unwelcome horrors did. No. It was speeding by, faster than a train.
"Remus, cover me!" Hermione cried, noticing several of the Death Eaters had also appeared nearby, and were beginning to aim spells in their direction.
"WINGARDIUM LEVIOSA!" she called desperately, catching the final vehicle seconds before it plunged into the murky depths.
Immediately, her jaw clenched and her arm trembled. The spell wasn't meant to levitate such a heavy object. Grimly, she held on, carefully guiding it towards the riverbank opposite from where they stood facing off with six of Lord Voldemort's merciless supporters.
Hermione swore under her breath as the people inside the well-kept light blue Nissan scrambled about, the woman in the passenger seat rolling down the window to shriek, "Help! Help us! Please!"
"REDUCTO!" a man screamed triumphantly. The red beam of light soared directly for the car, ripping the metal frame apart when it hit.
Hermione had barely gasped when the remaining portion of the car exploded, a massive hovering fireball. The ruined remnants were engulfed in flames as it plummeted, entering the water with a great, thundering splash!
"No!" Hermione wailed, horrified by the events that had just taken place.
The Death Eater was laughing at her reaction, bent double as he gasped around the sick mirth spilling from his lips.
"Look out!" Remus warned, roughly hauling her back several paces with a grip on her robes. A curse blew a divot in the ground where she'd been standing moments before.
Then they were fighting again, hurling curses and hexes as fast as they possibly could. The spells lit up the day, bright against the dreary, cloudy day.
Out of the corner of her eye, Hermione saw someone break the surface of the water, sputtering and gasping for breath.
"Crucio!" a Death Eater bellowed.
"Protego!" Fred cried, trying to block the spell aimed at the Muggle that was treading water. But there was no blocking an Unforgivable Curse. The man floundered, his arms flailing helplessly as he gave a muffled cry, swallowing and choking on the raging river water as the curse seized his body. He lost control of his limbs, submerging.
He did not resurface again.
The fighting continued. Somehow, despite being outnumbered, they appeared to be evenly matched. Either that or the Death Eaters were merely toying with them, having succeeded in what they'd set out to accomplish that day. Hermione was loath to admit that was probably the case.
Finally, just as Hermione was starting to feel exhaustion weighing down her limbs, making her reactions dangerously sluggish, the Death Eaters began Disapparating. The pops nearly synchronized as though they were responding to some hidden signal or prearranged plan. Perhaps even the summoning of their Master as he touched a tattooed Dark Mark on another member's arm miles away.
Hermione scanned the banks once they'd gone, searching for survivors. But there were no signs of life.
"Accio -"
Fred grabbed her arm, tugging it down from where she'd pointed it at the water, all the while shaking his head.
"Hermione, don't. It's been too long," he warned, sadness marring his usually jovial expression.
"I have to try. Accio car!" she called, feeling the strain set into her tired, aching body as it had when she'd levitated the car earlier.
"Oh Merlin," she gasped, sagging at the sight that greeted her.
Water slouched off the roof and boot, cascading back to the murky, dark surface in a gleaming, shimmering waterfall. The inside of the car was completely filled with water. And easily visible within were the floating bodies of the family that had been out driving on this fateful Wednesday afternoon.
They looked like they were merely asleep. The woman had long sable hair that waved about her head like tendrils of swaying seaweed. The little boy, no more than three, still had his hands curled into tight balls, a sodden stuffed teddy bear still clutched in one chubby fist. Hermione couldn't see the driver, but she knew he was there as well.
Strong arms wrapped around her, letting her lean against a solid, familiar chest. Warmth and chocolate invaded her senses, cocooning her, and Hermione dragged in a ragged breath. It clawed its way in, tasting of soot and broken hope.
"Remus," she gasped, his name a plea, begging him to tell her that what she was seeing was a lie. No more than a twisted mirage drawn up by the recently departed Death Eaters. A cruel visage formed of ash from the ruins. Nothing more than wasted vapors.
But he couldn't. Because it was real.
Remus tried to guide her away, to turn her around and hug her to his chest so that she didn't have to see the tragic sight a moment longer, but Hermione resisted, guiding the car to the empty stretch of land nearby.
"We have to check the rest. There were at least a dozen cars that fell in," Hermione insisted stubbornly, squaring her jaw and straightening out of Remus's comforting hold. There would be time for regrets and mourning later.
Remus and Fred exchanged looks. A five inch long cut was bleeding on Fred's arm, red liquid steadily weeping from the parted flesh, bloody tears shed for those recently lost. It looked quite deep, but he steadfastly ignored it.
"Yeah, all right, Hermione. We can check," Fred agreed softly, but he already wore a wrecked, defeated look.
One after another, they summoned each car from its water grave, guiding them to the bank once they'd broken the surface. Three were empty, two with their glass shattered from curses before they'd ever made the plunge.
"Do you think it's possible -"
"No, Hermione. I'm sorry. I saw one of the Death Eaters kill at least two Muggles that surfaced," Remus said gently, though honestly.
"Right," she said crisply, maintaining her composure. "Right, yes, of course."
"That was the last of them," Fred said gently.
With a last look around, Hermione took in the devastation and destruction. Every fiber of her being cried out, rebelling against the unfairness of what had just taken place. How could anyone commit such atrocities?
"Right. So much for trying to save them," she said bitterly, a hollow sob catching in her throat.
Perhaps if Scrimgeour had let Tonks or Kingsley accompany them, it would have gone differently. They'd not have been so outnumbered. Maybe...
"Hermione -"
"Remus, you should probably get her out of here before the Ministry officials arrive," Fred suggested, sensing she was losing the battle with maintaining her manufactured calm facade.
Plus, he was correct. She couldn't afford to be seen by the wrong people. Even with her disguised appearance, people were bound to ask questions. Particularly in times like these where anything out of the ordinary was automatically distrusted. Fear was a powerful influencer.
"I put up Muggle Repelling Charms this morning, hoping it'd keep these people away. Obviously it didn't work, but I think you'll need to dismantle them so the proper authorities come," Hermione muttered bitterly, and Fred nodded, promising to do so.
Hermione let Remus Side-Along Apparate them home. Then she let him hold her while she cried, the image of the little boy branded to the inside of her tightly screwed shut eyes.
"Hermione…" Remus said quietly once her sobs had died down. She detected his concern, and felt guilty for worrying him.
"I'll be all right, Remus. Promise," she said, surprising herself by meaning it. She'd just needed a minute to grieve for the loss of innocence. "I knew it was a long shot, but I had to try."
"I'm not sure I entirely understand how this closed loop you're… for lack of a better term, stuck in, works," he admitted. "You saved Sirius a couple weeks ago. But today..."
"Because no one knows that I did. At least no one that will share the information with my younger self or react in a way that hints to Sirius having survived that night," Hermione explained, biting her lip and considering all of the possibilities. They shuffled through her like a deck of cards, providing flashes and fleeting glimpses of explanations and rationales that she'd been over a dozen times during the course of the last year. "And it has to stay that way until the loop closes. The only way I can change big events is if they remain undetected. Or if they don't deviate from what I remember.
"Today… I read about it before. That's why I never had a chance. I can't imagine the consequences should I change too much. I shouldn't have tried, but all those people. Oh, Remus," she babbled, shaking her head because she knew she wasn't making very much sense. With a deep breath, she admitted, "Already there are lives deleted by my presence…"
Neither verbally acknowledged what she was alluding to, Remus's decision not to have Teddy. Hermione was determined to accept his decision, determined to respect it - even if it broke her heart.
Among other things.
Because that decision also generated a whole slew of other potential complications. Complications for her specifically, since Teddy was, at least partially, responsible for sending her back in time. And Hermione had no idea what would happen if he no longer existed to be part of that accident.
What would that mean? What would happen if she no longer went back? What would happen to Sirius?
She'd yet to tell Tonks anything either. An opportunity hadn't presented itself with as busy as they'd been since news of Voldemort's return became publicly recognized. Nearly every day this week something new cropped up requiring their immediate attention. Albus's Patronuses were regular visitors at the cabin anymore, each with instructions and a destination where an attack was taking place.
"I remember reading about the bridge accident in the Prophet," she continued doggedly, trying to defuse the awkward tension that had crept in on the wake of her reference, and explain a bit more coherently. "It made front page news. Same with Madam Bones. I guess I don't know what I can change until I try. Aside from that, the changes I make… Well, they are all things I've already changed because I've always been here to make them."
"I suppose," he said dubiously, but he didn't ask anything else, so she didn't know what had him so perplexed.
And her mind was too caught up in the reminder that there was only so much that she could do as she'd mentioned Amelia Bones.
Because Hermione hadn't fared any better three days earlier with the giants in West Country than she had with the Death Eaters today. Hermione had decided that if Albus wasn't going to try and save the elder Bones witch, then she would.
Only she hadn't been able to. Remus had Disapparated them away moments before they would have been ripped apart when three of the giants cornered the pair of them.
Hermione had never even made it to Madam Bones's house, situated on the same property as her brother's family. The giants had kept her occupied while Voldemort fought Amelia in the house. Hermione hadn't even gotten close.
This was rapidly turning into the worst week of her life.
It didn't even matter that Remus had tried insisting Susan and her parents were alive because Hermione had convinced Albus to change his plans. Amelia was still dead. All those Muggles on the bridge were still dead. That little boy was still dead.
That night, Remus cooked them dinner, suspecting that Hermione wouldn't be up to helping. Usually, they made dinner together, neither particularly enjoying the task of cooking, but somehow it was more fun when they did it together.
Tonks came by around the time Remus was finishing up.
"Wotcher," Tonks greeted, looking around the place with interest, her violently purple hair in a chin-length bob right then.
Tonks had been frequently owling Hermione during the last week, expressing her gratitude over Hermione helping her at the Ministry and trying to establish a stronger friendship with her. The more Hermione got to know her, the more she liked her.
Seeing Tonks in the cabin now made Hermione suspect that it was the young witch's first time visiting Remus's house. Her house now too.
"We're all meeting at the Burrow later this evening," Tonks announced, directing her words to Remus since Hermione wouldn't be able to attend.
"A meeting?" Remus inquired, brow furrowing. Dumbledore hadn't sent prior word, which meant something must have happened to instigate the last minute gathering.
"It's Emmeline Vance," Tonks said sadly, slumping heavily into a chair at the kitchen table. She waved off Hermione's offer of a butterbeer, shaking her head and sighing loudly.
Foreboding gripped Hermione as she watched the downcast witch. The name tickled some memory at the edge of Hermione's mind. It sounded familiar, but she couldn't quite place it.
"What happened to her?" Remus asked quietly, moving to take the open seat beside Hermione.
"Death Eaters surrounded her in London this afternoon. Witnesses mentioned hearing Imerpio shouted several times. But it looks like she put up such a fight, that in the end, they'd decided it would be easier just to kill her. She's gone," Tonks related mournfully.
The young witch gave Hermione a pitying look, her vibrate hair at odds with the dreadful news she'd come to impart. Remus tensed visibly, and Hermione noticed his additional concern as he stared at Tonks, waiting for her to answer his silent demand.
"They're all right. Didn't notice a thing," Tonks promised, offering Hermione an encouraging smile.
"What am I missing?" Hermione demanded, a quiver entering her voice. Obviously, she was missing something important here.
"You don't know?" Tonks gasped, looking incredulously from Hermione to Remus and back at Hermione again.
"Know what?" Hermione demanded shrilly.
"Emmeline is in the Order. Vance was the one assigned to watch over your parents, and well… you while you're with them this summer," Remus explained, placing a calming hand over Hermione's balled fist where it rested in her lap.
Emmeline was in the Order? Hermione hadn't remembered. Hadn't known to offer a warning that she was going to be attacked and murdered. She couldn't remember Kingsley talking about her when they set up the tributes. No one else had either. Not to Hermione, at least. If she was in the Order, then Remus was probably friends with the witch. And now she too was dead.
And it happened because -
"She... what?"
Emmeline had been killed while protecting her and her family? Hermione had never even suspected she'd been in danger the summer before her sixth year. How had she missed an attack? Apparently, she had been targeted though, and definitely in danger. Quite a bit even.
"I thought you knew," Remus said, studying her.
"No…no. I had no idea," Hermione said slowly, working through the new information. She couldn't wrap her head around it. The Order was protecting her family. Dumbledore had never told her - before or now - though the more she thought about it, the more it made sense that he'd take that precaution. Harry would have shouldered the guilt if something had happened to her family.
But why hadn't he said anything to her the week before when he visited?
"Emmeline was attacked just outside your parents' dentist office in London," Tonks explained, sensing Hermione was still trying to piece everything together.
"I promise I'll see to it that someone else is assigned. They're obviously being targeted," Remus mused, thinking over the other recent attacks.
Nearly all had involved either high ranking Ministry personnel who were very verbally siding with Dumbledore, or they were individuals linked to Harry. There'd been an attack on the Burrow two nights earlier, but enough Order members were present that the Death Eaters quickly fled. It'd been decided not to tell Harry for fear that he'd blame himself, and he was already dealing with quite enough considering he believed his godfather had just died.
"All of the families that were at the Ministry last month are," Tonks confirmed, adding, "Luckily the Lovegoods are out of the country, but Mrs. Longbottom was attacked late last night. She fought them off all on her own. That's one witch I'd never dare cross."
"Was that where you were today?" Hermione asked absently, still pondering her parents' safety, and if she should intercede.
"Yeah. George told me about the bridge. I'm sorry I couldn't be there," Tonks said sincerely.
"I'll leave a Stasis Charm on," Hermione said, deflecting the topic as she gestured to the nearly cooked food. She did not wish to discuss their failure, and she knew Tonks and Remus needed to get a move on for the meeting.
Later, when Remus returned, he crawled into bed behind her.
"You came back," she said, rolling into him. It was silly, but after the day she'd had, she'd been irrationally worried.
"I promised you I always would," he reminded, kissing her gently. Then he offered, "Hestia Jones has agreed to take watch on you and your parents. She'll look out for them."
"Thank you," Hermione said quietly.
"Molly's sending a letter round asking you to stay for the rest of summer. That should keep them safer too once you're at the Burrow. And we have at least half a dozen Order members scheduled to watch over the place round the clock once Harry gets there, so you'll be safe. Bill and Fleur agreed to move in for the rest of summer too since Arthur is putting in extra hours at the Ministry."
"Yes," she agreed absently, still beating herself up over not realizing all this sooner.
"What can I do?"
"Just hold me. Please?" she begged, clutching his arm close when he wove his arms about her slight frame.
And when she'd woken three hours later, a scream dying on her lips as she sat bolt upright, he'd been there to wrap his arms around her again, and murmur soothing words until she'd nodded back off.
Hermione was immeasurably grateful, because this was only the beginning. At least he'd be there to face it all with her. This man who had become her heart.