Hermione waited until her older self had retired for the night, with Snape,
and slipped into the living room. She retrieved the book from where Morgan
and Albus had hidden it, moving over to one of the desks. She lit the
candle, and sat down, the leather bound book before her. 'Dragon's Blood:
The Defeat Of The Dark Lord'.
Opening the volume carefully, Hermione scanned the pages until she reached the penultimate chapter.
'For many years,' she read, 'the death of the Dark Lord, Voldemort, was something people such as ourselves could only dream of. It was the hope that one day it would happen that kept us from giving up. But it would appear that, for one person at least, it was a problem that had to be solved.
'In the last year of his reign, it was rumoured that Voldemort was searching for his daughter, a child who had been removed from his side just hours after her birth and placed within the Muggle world for protection. He decided that she would be hidden at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the safest place in Britain.
'Under the cover of darkness, Voldemort and a group of trusted followers entered Hogwarts, determined to take the girl from Albus Dumbledore's protection. They were met by the professors of Hogwarts in a confrontation that left many casualties on either side. Meanwhile, a battle was being fought in the nearby village of Hogsmeade, where Aurors and Death- Eaters had gathered to await news of the raid.
'Fleeing from his enemies, his followers killed, Voldemort hid in one of the inner rooms of the school, thought to be where his daughter had stayed. He found himself in the company of the one person who could rid the world of his presence. Not much is known of what transpired during his brief sojourn in the rooms, but when the weary professors reached them, they found his body. It was a dry, withered husk, the skin all but falling off bones that were crumbling under the weight of useless muscles. His wand lay in his hand, and beside the body, a knife of some kind. It was liberally smeared with dragon's blood. The Dark Lord Voldemort was dead.
'To this day, no one has come forward to claim the honour of being his killer, and the saviour of the wizarding world. Some say it was a double agent, working for both Dumbledore and Voldemort, perhaps even Professor Severus Snape. Others say it could have been a Death-Eater, a desperate man who saw no other way out of his predicament. Or perhaps it was this fabled daughter, and she, too, perished with her father. No one can be certain. All we know is that dragon's blood was the downfall of the Dark Lord, and the end of his evil ways forever.'
Hermione sat back with a frown, the book forgotten on the desk before her. That couldn't be right, it was too simple, too obvious. Voldemort would never have been fooled by her. Her thoughts were too transparent even to her friends. Such a powerful dark wizard would never let her near him without a good reason. Besides, dragon's blood didn't have that effect on people. It just clotted their blood, it didn't dry them out and weaken their bones.
She blew out the candle, returning the book to its hiding place. Something wasn't quite right with that account, and she was going to have to find out what.
*~*~*
There was a knock on the door. Both Hermiones looked up as Snape moved to open it. He invited the Headmaster in, offering Dumbledore a chair and excusing himself in the same breath. He gathered the children to him, and escorted them out of the room. The Hermiones exchanged a glance and turned to the old wizard sitting between them.
'Good evening, Albus,' the older Hermione said, setting tiny Louise in her basket. 'To what do we owe this pleasure?'
Dumbledore gave her a fond smile.
'I am under the impression from Madame Pince that a book has gone missing from the library again. The Restricted Section, I'm afraid.'
The older woman laughed.
'I dare say Morgan and Albus have been teasing her again. It's a harmless prank.'
'Not this book, Hermione.'
'Why?'
The younger Hermione felt her heart sink. She'd tried so hard to keep the Snapes out of this. Dumbledore didn't look at her as he answered her older self.
''Dragon's Blood: The Defeat Of The Dark Lord' is not something I would have thought your children would have had any interest in.'
The older Hermione paled.
'What?'
'I was wondering if young Hermione here would have any ideas as to its whereabouts?'
He turned to the younger girl. She swallowed.
'I took it, Headmaster. I had an idea and I wanted to see if it had worked.'
His eyebrow rose.
'That, Miss Granger, is known as cheating.'
She smiled despite herself.
'I know, but it didn't help anyway. I'm no closer to my solution than before.'
'What do you mean?'
She shifted under their gazes; it didn't help that one of them was herself.
'Well, it's just too simple,' she said. 'Surely whoever it was wouldn't have been so clumsy as to have left their weapon behind. And the book said that the knife was liberally smeared with dragon's blood. If it had been stuck into Voldemort, wouldn't the blood be his?'
Dumbledore nodded.
'You are quite right, Miss Granger. I was correct when I said you could be his downfall. You must therefore find another route down which to go.'
He rose.
'When you're finished with the volume, be so kind as to return it, please. Good evening, Hermione.'
'Good evening, Professor,' they both chanted as he left.
Hermione turned to her older self.
'What did he mean, I could be his downfall?'
The older woman looked at her with withering sarcasm. Apparently marriage to Snape would teach her a few things.
'If your memory's that bad, Hermione, you'll never defeat Voldemort. Remember what Dumbledore said to you the first time he came for you, the night you dived in front of the curse intended for Lavender. Then let that amazing brain of yours do what it's there for. Think, Hermione.'
Hermione sat back, her brow furrowing in lines of concentration. Her mind hastily replayed the events of her final year at Hogwarts, the night she had seen her friends threatened because of who she was. Dumbledore's words echoed in her mind.
*
'. . . with your remarkably well timed dive into the Cruciatus, you did, in fact, stop Voldemort. From what I can gather, he was so mortified at having hurt you, he leapt out of the window and flew off.'
'Why would he do that?' Harry had asked.
'I believe it is because Hermione is the only thing he has ever truly loved, Harry. She is his daughter, he has loved her since the day she was born.'
*
That couldn't be right, could it? Would Voldemort really be mortified at hurting her? Slowly a plan began to form in Hermione's mind.
If what Dumbledore had said was true, her father would not be able to stand aside while his only child was in danger, whatever the danger was. And Hermione knew that there was only one thing he would be able to do to save her. If he didn't, she had nothing to lose.
*~*~*
Snape stood in the silent room, letting the stillness wash over him. He didn't know why he was here, he had just felt a sudden compulsion to enter the rooms from which his love had disappeared only days before.
He felt his heart clench abruptly as he thought of Hermione. Finally he had just resigned himself to his feelings, too tired to fight it anymore. He loved her with his heart and soul. She was his light and he would do anything to protect her.
There was an explosion that rocked the castle to its very foundations, making him stagger. In shock, he realised that Voldemort must have given up on him and had come to fetch Hermione himself. Drawing his wand, he stumbled to the door as another crash echoed through the ancient building.
As he reached the door, he heard a soft 'pop' behind him, followed by a quiet cursing in a very familiar voice. He turned, his expression incredulous, to see Hermione picking herself up off the floor where she had fallen only moments before.
She smiled at him.
'Hello Professor.'
Opening the volume carefully, Hermione scanned the pages until she reached the penultimate chapter.
'For many years,' she read, 'the death of the Dark Lord, Voldemort, was something people such as ourselves could only dream of. It was the hope that one day it would happen that kept us from giving up. But it would appear that, for one person at least, it was a problem that had to be solved.
'In the last year of his reign, it was rumoured that Voldemort was searching for his daughter, a child who had been removed from his side just hours after her birth and placed within the Muggle world for protection. He decided that she would be hidden at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the safest place in Britain.
'Under the cover of darkness, Voldemort and a group of trusted followers entered Hogwarts, determined to take the girl from Albus Dumbledore's protection. They were met by the professors of Hogwarts in a confrontation that left many casualties on either side. Meanwhile, a battle was being fought in the nearby village of Hogsmeade, where Aurors and Death- Eaters had gathered to await news of the raid.
'Fleeing from his enemies, his followers killed, Voldemort hid in one of the inner rooms of the school, thought to be where his daughter had stayed. He found himself in the company of the one person who could rid the world of his presence. Not much is known of what transpired during his brief sojourn in the rooms, but when the weary professors reached them, they found his body. It was a dry, withered husk, the skin all but falling off bones that were crumbling under the weight of useless muscles. His wand lay in his hand, and beside the body, a knife of some kind. It was liberally smeared with dragon's blood. The Dark Lord Voldemort was dead.
'To this day, no one has come forward to claim the honour of being his killer, and the saviour of the wizarding world. Some say it was a double agent, working for both Dumbledore and Voldemort, perhaps even Professor Severus Snape. Others say it could have been a Death-Eater, a desperate man who saw no other way out of his predicament. Or perhaps it was this fabled daughter, and she, too, perished with her father. No one can be certain. All we know is that dragon's blood was the downfall of the Dark Lord, and the end of his evil ways forever.'
Hermione sat back with a frown, the book forgotten on the desk before her. That couldn't be right, it was too simple, too obvious. Voldemort would never have been fooled by her. Her thoughts were too transparent even to her friends. Such a powerful dark wizard would never let her near him without a good reason. Besides, dragon's blood didn't have that effect on people. It just clotted their blood, it didn't dry them out and weaken their bones.
She blew out the candle, returning the book to its hiding place. Something wasn't quite right with that account, and she was going to have to find out what.
*~*~*
There was a knock on the door. Both Hermiones looked up as Snape moved to open it. He invited the Headmaster in, offering Dumbledore a chair and excusing himself in the same breath. He gathered the children to him, and escorted them out of the room. The Hermiones exchanged a glance and turned to the old wizard sitting between them.
'Good evening, Albus,' the older Hermione said, setting tiny Louise in her basket. 'To what do we owe this pleasure?'
Dumbledore gave her a fond smile.
'I am under the impression from Madame Pince that a book has gone missing from the library again. The Restricted Section, I'm afraid.'
The older woman laughed.
'I dare say Morgan and Albus have been teasing her again. It's a harmless prank.'
'Not this book, Hermione.'
'Why?'
The younger Hermione felt her heart sink. She'd tried so hard to keep the Snapes out of this. Dumbledore didn't look at her as he answered her older self.
''Dragon's Blood: The Defeat Of The Dark Lord' is not something I would have thought your children would have had any interest in.'
The older Hermione paled.
'What?'
'I was wondering if young Hermione here would have any ideas as to its whereabouts?'
He turned to the younger girl. She swallowed.
'I took it, Headmaster. I had an idea and I wanted to see if it had worked.'
His eyebrow rose.
'That, Miss Granger, is known as cheating.'
She smiled despite herself.
'I know, but it didn't help anyway. I'm no closer to my solution than before.'
'What do you mean?'
She shifted under their gazes; it didn't help that one of them was herself.
'Well, it's just too simple,' she said. 'Surely whoever it was wouldn't have been so clumsy as to have left their weapon behind. And the book said that the knife was liberally smeared with dragon's blood. If it had been stuck into Voldemort, wouldn't the blood be his?'
Dumbledore nodded.
'You are quite right, Miss Granger. I was correct when I said you could be his downfall. You must therefore find another route down which to go.'
He rose.
'When you're finished with the volume, be so kind as to return it, please. Good evening, Hermione.'
'Good evening, Professor,' they both chanted as he left.
Hermione turned to her older self.
'What did he mean, I could be his downfall?'
The older woman looked at her with withering sarcasm. Apparently marriage to Snape would teach her a few things.
'If your memory's that bad, Hermione, you'll never defeat Voldemort. Remember what Dumbledore said to you the first time he came for you, the night you dived in front of the curse intended for Lavender. Then let that amazing brain of yours do what it's there for. Think, Hermione.'
Hermione sat back, her brow furrowing in lines of concentration. Her mind hastily replayed the events of her final year at Hogwarts, the night she had seen her friends threatened because of who she was. Dumbledore's words echoed in her mind.
*
'. . . with your remarkably well timed dive into the Cruciatus, you did, in fact, stop Voldemort. From what I can gather, he was so mortified at having hurt you, he leapt out of the window and flew off.'
'Why would he do that?' Harry had asked.
'I believe it is because Hermione is the only thing he has ever truly loved, Harry. She is his daughter, he has loved her since the day she was born.'
*
That couldn't be right, could it? Would Voldemort really be mortified at hurting her? Slowly a plan began to form in Hermione's mind.
If what Dumbledore had said was true, her father would not be able to stand aside while his only child was in danger, whatever the danger was. And Hermione knew that there was only one thing he would be able to do to save her. If he didn't, she had nothing to lose.
*~*~*
Snape stood in the silent room, letting the stillness wash over him. He didn't know why he was here, he had just felt a sudden compulsion to enter the rooms from which his love had disappeared only days before.
He felt his heart clench abruptly as he thought of Hermione. Finally he had just resigned himself to his feelings, too tired to fight it anymore. He loved her with his heart and soul. She was his light and he would do anything to protect her.
There was an explosion that rocked the castle to its very foundations, making him stagger. In shock, he realised that Voldemort must have given up on him and had come to fetch Hermione himself. Drawing his wand, he stumbled to the door as another crash echoed through the ancient building.
As he reached the door, he heard a soft 'pop' behind him, followed by a quiet cursing in a very familiar voice. He turned, his expression incredulous, to see Hermione picking herself up off the floor where she had fallen only moments before.
She smiled at him.
'Hello Professor.'