A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows after last chapter! Trouble is definitely brewing for Hermione! You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions.
Please let me know what you thought about chapter thirty and be on the lookout for chapter thirty-one soon!
June 1969
The rest of the school year seemed to zip by in the blink of an eye. Before Hermione knew it, it was time for her to take her NEWTs. She had the unusual experience of feeling extraordinarily prepared for the exams, while at the same time being incredibly nervous about how she was going to do. She tried to tell herself that she had studied and revised all school year for this, and she couldn't do anything else at this point, but that didn't comfort her as much as it should have.
It felt even weirder to know that she was doing it without Harry and Ron by her side. She wondered what things were like in the future for what seemed like the millionth time. Had they been looking for her? Did they wonder what happened to Hermione Granger who just up and vanished? Were they taking their own NEWTs or out fighting in a war to stop Voldemort? Or, had she made so many changes thus far that Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley weren't even really aware of her?
She couldn't allow herself to think on those thoughts for too long, though, if she didn't want melancholy to completely take over her. No, it was better to focus on her current situation.
Rodolphus had not been able to visit her again, and his notes had been few and far between over the month of May and into June. She tried not to be too hurt by it, knowing that he was surely busy helping Alfred Nott with some legislation, knee deep in research that he claimed to hate, but secretly loved. He had his own things to worry about and she was sure that she wouldn't have been so busy herself that it likely wouldn't have been worth it anyway.
On the first day of her examinations, Hermione woke up with her stomach roiling away. She hadn't been so nervous that she was nauseous since she'd been in third year, but she found that a bit of dry toast settled her stomach enough for her to eat some oatmeal. It wouldn't do to be distracted by hunger for her first exam, especially considering that it was the one that she was most nervous about.
It seemed as if Rodolphus must have remembered that it was likely to be her most difficult exam, because halfway through breakfast, an owl delivered a quick note from him. Scrawled on a strip of paper, in his perfect handwriting, was a few words of encouragement that had Hermione's heart skipping a beat at the thought that he had remembered. "I know you will do great on your Defense Against the Dark Arts NEWT today. The written portion was easier to tackle than I guessed," he promised. "And with how good you do in the morning, Charms in the afternoon will be even easier."
He was right - the Defense Against the Dark Arts theoretical portion was easier than she expected, and she was feeling so confident that she was sure she aced the practical portion as well. Hermione was probably most comfortable with Charms, and as predicted, she breezed right through it.
The following day, she had her Potions NEWT, which was slated to take the full day. She started the day similarly nervous. The exam room was hot, leaving her flushed and her hair frizzy, with the heat from all the cauldrons going, but the kind words she'd received from her boyfriend that morning helped her power through it. "I don't know any non-Slytherin who is better at potions than you. X."
Midway through the week, she had just a Herbology examination in the afternoon, so she spent the morning holed up in the library, trying to review all the material that she'd still be tested on later in the week. She was disappointed that she did not receive a note from Rodolphus that morning, as she'd come to look forward to his words of encouragement. But then, she was all the more delighted to get the note that he sent her over dinner time, once she'd completed Herbology. It had been a truly nastily exhausting ordeal, keeping her up to her elbows in dirt for nearly three hours. "Over halfway through with your NEWTs, darling. Salazar - I can't believe you are seriously taking seven NEWTS. You are far smarter than I deserve."
Hermione knew that the next day would be grueling, as she had her Arithmancy and Ancient Runes exams back to back, and those were easily her most taxing subjects. She was likely going to have to use every minute of time that she was permitted so complete all the various calculations and translations that were necessary. However, the two subjects were also perhaps her favorite subjects, so she was feeling cautiously confident after how well everything had gone thus far.
Rodolphus sent another note that morning. "Do I even need to keep telling you how brilliant you will do at this point? I'm sure you know as well as I that you are doing wonderfully at your exams. X."
That had brought a smile to her face, knowing that the young man had such confidence in her abilities. She did not really share his level of surety, but it was nice to know that he did. The day was long and by the evening her fingers were aching from how much she'd had to write, but she was feeling much lighter when she finally fell back into her bed in Gryffindor tower, exhausted.
"Last exam ever!" Rodolphus had scribbled on his final note of encouragement when she woke up on her fifth and final day of examinations. "Somehow, I know you won't find that to be as big of a relief as I do. If anyone can get an O in Transfiguration, it's Hermione Granger."
Hermione hadn't been able to keep the smile off of her face, knowing that when it came down to it, she did enjoy exams. Or, at least, she enjoyed doing well on things, clear evidence that she was smart and...well, it embarrassed her to think it, but that she had done better than other people. Minerva McGonagall was no less strict in the late 60s than she was in the 90s, and Hermione felt extraordinarily prepared by her professor for the exam, but it still didn't stop that sick feeling from settling in her stomach once again, lingering even once she'd completed the written portion of her exam. The practical was easier than the written portion, and Hermione was able to end her NEWT exams on a high note, knowing that she'd at least passed that.
Then, she was left to fret, worrying over her results, knowing that she would only grow more and more unsure of herself until they were delivered.
Her girlfriends must have noticed her souring mood because that evening they refused to let her leave their shared room, passing around a bottle of firewhiskey between the four of them, ready to let off a little steam on their last night in the school. Lottie was due to get married at the end of summer and was planning on being a house witch now that she was leaving school. Fawn was planning on returning to Switzerland with her aunt, working as a sort of secretary for her until she could find a suitor of her own. Hermione privately thought that she hadn't lost touch with her Italian beau, and was certain that a marriage would not be far off for the shy witch.
Elna was the only of her trio of friends who planned on working after school. She'd gotten an offer to work in the Ministry as a reviewer of ludicrous patents, which Hermione thought would be interesting. Hermione was embarrassed to say that she hadn't thought much about what she would do now that she was leaving school, seeing as her future was as of yet so uncertain. If she had an uncomplicated life, she thought she might like to complete a Mastery, but she told her friends that she was still exploring her options, with a bright blush on her cheeks.
It didn't help that the MInistry would not come knocking her door down seeing as she was a muggleborn, and the political atmosphere was really quite tense at the moment. Still, she knew that that was little more than a convenient excuse when she hadn't actually applied anywhere.
The following morning, the girls passed a hangover potion between the three of them while they packed up their school trunks for the last time. The carriage ride down to the train station was full of a painful sort of nostalgia for Hermione when she again remembered how out of place she was. Still, she tried to shake off the bad feeling that filled her while they giggled and laughed on their way back to Kings Cross.
"Are you really going back to the Weasleys?" Fawn asked her, thinking her situation was rather odd.
Hermione nodded quickly. "Yes, but it is only for a week or two while Headmaster Dumbledore helps me find a flat," she told them, wishing that she would have approached him earlier in the year, or better yet, worked up the courage to ask Rodolphus to let her stay with him for a while. "I'm so grateful to the Weasleys. I know it can't be easy to have an extra person at their house for as long as I've been there."
"I'm sure they didn't mind too much," Elna insisted. "Arthur probably loved it while it lasted, even though Molly Prewett got him in the end."
She tried to remain charitable, but she was sure that Elna was right, even if she was teasing. "I'm just glad that they are together. I'm sure that they will make each other very happy," Hermione said, knowing exactly what the future had in store for the young couple.
They pulled into the train station far too early for Hermione's liking, and before she knew it, she was shrinking her trunk - finally permitted to do magic outside of school - and making her way off the train, giving Lottie, Elna and Fawn big hugs with promises to write and maybe even get tea someday soon.
When she stepped out onto the platform, she immediately began looking for any sign of Georgie among all the students pouring off of the train. Instead, she was unlucky enough to make eye contact with the last person she wanted to - Bellatrix Black. The Slytherin witch sauntered over to her with purpose, a devious little smirk on her face. "Well, mudblood, I can't say that I didn't warn you," she said with a laugh. "If you didn't handle it, I would. And well...I did handle it. Rodolphus and I aren't going to be betrothed for much longer, so there is nothing standing in your way now."
"What do you mean you handled it?" Hermione asked, feeling her stomach knot in nerves, faced with the most concrete evidence yet that she had made changes.
"Oh, you'll see," Bellatrix promised, her smile growing wider, showing off her crooked teeth, and for a moment, Hermione could see a shade of the witch she'd known from the future. "Goodbye, mudblood."
Hermione turned and watched her walk away, reuniting with her family. Even more unsettling was feeling the gaze of Cygnus Black on her, anger glowing in his dark eyes. She swallowed thickly, wondering just what Bellatrix had meant, and hoping beyond hope that she wouldn't find out.
"Bunny, are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost," Cedrella asked loudly, Georgie behind her.
The younger witch just shook her head, unsure of what to say. "Uh, it's just hitting me now...that I'm really done with school now," she lied, knowing that it would be impossible for her to tell Mrs. Weasley the truth.
"Oh," Cedrella said simply. "Well, let's get home to celebrate! I'll make cocktails!"