A/N: New chapter, out quite soon! Thank you all for reading, following, and favoriting, and a special thanks to those who have reviewed! I have reached over 300 visitors on this story now, and for a first-time fanfiction writer, that's incredible to see! I hope you all enjoy this chapter - I really enjoyed writing it!
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, and this story is largely me twisting J.K. Rowling's plot in new and interesting ways. I love her characters and her plot, and I am just happy to be able to use them in my own story!
1997
Through a flurry of frantic patroni, the details of Tonk's escape reached the small, dusty cabin where Remus, Ron, and Hermione waited. Tonks and Andromeda had made it to the Burrow, only to find that it, too, was being attacked. Those who could had fled again, making it to Hestia Jones' house before the secure Floo Network had fully shut down. A few of the Weasleys were left behind at the Burrow. Ron had been pacing the cabin, threatening to yank all his hair out, ever since that piece of news arrived.
Hestia's house wasn't under attack yet, but the remaining Order figured that it was only a matter of time. So, in a desperate attempt to find a safe house that the Death Eaters couldn't possibly know about, they had gone to a last resort. It turned out that Sirius had once told Tonks about the caves he hid out in during Harry's fourth year. So the gathered Order escapees had fled to a roomy cave just outside of Hogsmeade, where they had attempted to set up camp.
"Mum said it's no place for a pregnant woman," Tonks's patronus had said. "But it's got enough room for all of us. Even a chimney hole for cooking over a fire. We've fixed the place up with some spells, of course. We've made the walls dry. Molly Weasley decorates when she's stressed, so it practically looks like a cozy house now."
Remus sighed, and seemed to agree with Andromeda. It was clear that he didn't like being separated from his wife as she carried their child, nor did he like the idea of his child being born in a cave. But the relief on his face was impossible to ignore. They were alive. And, in this desperate time, that was all that mattered.
Ron finally forced Hermione to sleep that night, even going so far as to conjure a bed for her (a tricky piece of spellwork that made her rather pleased). When she woke up in the morning her energy was fully recovered, and she felt confident that she could do any spell she needed to do. Her arms were spill marbled with pink burns, but at least they were healing, and only slightly hurt to the touch now.
As she slowly got out of the bed, she took in the room. Ron had also fallen asleep at some point, though he was simply dozing against a rotting wall. Remus, however, was still wide awake, sending another patronus out the window as she watched.
"Have you been awake all night?" she asked him.
He nodded honestly. "I can go without sleep. And I don't want to rest until we get to the others."
"Have they found anyone else yet?" Hermione asked.
He shook his head sadly. "No. Still only the six of them in the cave."
Tonks had reported that along with she and Andromeda, only Hestia Jones, and Molly Weasley had made it to the cave. They had sent a Patronus to Fred and George, who instantly abandoned their shop and joined them. Arthur and Charlie were left in the Burrow while it was under attack ("shouting some nonsense about Ladies first," Tonks's patronus had muttered darkly), and they had not been in contact. Kingsley was also unaccounted for.
No one wanted to think too hard about what that might mean.
Ron stirred from his place against the wall, and Hermione turned to look at him. By the look of dread that had taken up residence in his eyes, she knew he had heard their conversation.
Tonks's patronus shot through the window in a silvery streak. "For the last time, Remus," it said. "You have no reason to come here. It sounds like you've got a hide out of your own. You can't Floo into a cave, obviously, and it's too dangerous to apparate right into Hogsmeade. Don't put yourself in danger just for my sake."
But Tonks's voice wavered a bit at the end, and Hermione saw Remus's face crinkle with worry.
He conjured another patronus and boldly said his message. "No, Dora. You are enough reason for me to come. I need to be there."
The patronus shot off through the window. Hermione almost smiled at the show of love between the two.
Just then, the DA galleon burned in her pocket. Her eyes widened and she grabbed it at once. She had to squint to read the tiny message written on it, but once she had her spirits lifted.
"We have another reason to go to Hogsmeade," she announced to Ron and Remus.
They spun to her. "What?" they asked at the same time, with almost identical tones of desperation.
She held up the coin. "The DA's found the information we needed about Harry. They said it will be easier to pick up in person."
Ron slumped back against his wall. "Thank Merlin."
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They apparated onto the border of Hogsmeade an hour later. With the help of the Order's patroni and the DA's galleon, they managed to get a good idea of what they were getting themselves into, and made a plan.
It was a simple one, really: the Death Eaters had set up wards around Hogsmeade to notify them if anyone apparated in. They avoided that by apparating just outside the city limits. Next, they determined that sneaking into Hogwarts would be easier with fewer people. Hermione had wanted to go in by herself, but Ron had stubbornly demanded that he go, too. Though Hermione wouldn't show it, she was grateful that he would be at her side.
Remus would go at once to the cave. He wouldn't even have to enter the town, which meant he could get by simply with a disillusionment charm until he reached the cave. The Order were expecting him, so he wasn't worried about getting past their security.
Ron had at first worried that a disillusionment charm wouldn't be enough under the prying eyes of Death Eaters. Hermione had, biting back a tear, opened her beaded bag pulled out Harry's invisibility cloak.
"I thought he carried that in his pouch," Ron had said, looking at the shimmery material sadly.
"He does," said Hermione. "But I borrowed it to do watch duty last night and he was asleep by the time I got back. So I put it in here for safe keeping."
For a moment they stared at the cloak, so many shared thoughts going unshared.
Then Ron, in a rare display of gentleness, set his hand on Hermione's.
"We'll find him," he said, though his voice was raspy. "This research that the DA did - it'll tell us where he went."
Hermione nodded, hoping against hope that it would. "Then we'll do whatever we have to to get him back," she said.
He nodded, then lifted his head back to Remus. "I think we're ready."
So the three of them apparated just outside the border of Hogsmeade. Remus was already disillusioned, and gave them a simple pat on the shoulders to let them know he was on his way to the cave. Ron and Hermione wasted no time in covering themselves with the cloak.
"Make sure your feet don't show," she whispered to him.
He managed to crack a smile. "We certainly aren't first years anymore."
They had been worried about getting through the Honeydukes passage, or even breaking into the Shrieking Shack. Both would involve a trek across Hogwarts grounds or its hallways, and from reports they had heard, Hogwarts wasn't a safe place to be right now. However, the DA had quickly helped them on that matter via the galleon.
In the Room of Requirement, the coin had said. New passage in Hog's Head. Aberforth knows you're coming.
Luckily for them, the Hog's Head was quite near to the edge of town. Ron and Hermione made it there easily enough, only briefly crossing paths with a patrolling Death Eater.
The bartender, an old, wizened man with blue eyes and long white beard, unlocked the door and shooed them in, grumbling something under his breath. Hermione thought he looked like someone she knew - but she didn't have time to dwell on that now. They needed to get in, get the research, and get out.
Aberforth led them to a back room, where a portrait of a young girl swung open on it's hinges. Soon Ron and Hermione were in the unfamiliar passageway, shedding the invisibility cloak and walking briskly by only the light of their wands.
Then, waiting for them partway down the tunnel, were two very familiar figures.
"Ginny!" Ron shouted, running to greet his sister. Hermione also pulled Ginny into a hug before turning to greet Neville, who stood beside her with a stack of books in his arms.
"You two don't look so good," Ginny said, looking them over.
Hermione looked at Neville and Ginny. Ginny sported a few scrapes and cuts, and looked like she hadn't washed her hair in awhile. She was thinner than Hermione remembered, too, and her usually glowing smile was dimmed considerably. Neville looked much worse, with a black eye, a handful of bandages scattered across his face, and the beginnings of a beard. Between the two of them, she suddenly understood just how bad life at Hogwarts had been.
"You don't look so good yourself," Ron replied to his sister.
"I want to catch up," said Hermione sadly. "But we're here to get the research."
Neville nodded in understanding. He held up the stack of books, then deposited them into Hermione's arms. She took on the weight with ease, finding herself briefly comforted by the feeling of books in her arms. It was almost possible, for a moment, to pretend she was just a schoolgirl again, researching for a Transfiguration essay.
However, the dark tunnel and war-weary faces made that delusion near impossible to hold onto.
"We'd love to show you what we've done with the Room of Requirement," said Neville. "But we figured it wasn't worth risking you coming all the way inside."
"It turns out that Luna and Cho are almost as good at research as you are, Hermione," said Ginny with a touch of pride in her voice. "They snuck to the library at night, and found your answers before sunrise."
Hermine looked down at the books, reading over the strange titles. "What answers did you find, exactly?" she asked, her heart hammering in her chest.
Neville opened his mouth uncertainly. "Those spells…" he started. "They seem to point to...well, for lack of a better way to say it...time travel."
Ron's jaw dropped open. Hermione found herself hugging the books more tightly to herself as her mind began to race.
Time travel.
"How?" asked Ron, his voice disbelieving.
"Luna would be able to explain this better," said Ginny, looking equally as hesitant as Neville. "But something about those spells...the Killing Curse tries to separate the soul from the body, but then the Cutting Hex prevents the person from actually dying. Then the impedimenta stops forward progression, and somehow together it sends the person back in time. But just their soul."
"But…" Ron was fumbling desperately for words. "How…?"
Hermione looked at Ginny. "Has this happened before?" she asked.
Ginny shook her head. "No. Cho said it was just theory mentioned in the books. The books didn't even get quite that far in their theory, but Luna started looking in a book about time travel and it was...uncanny...how much the research lined up."
Neville was looking at Hermione, his eyes wide with fear. "Why do you need to research this?" he asked her. "Did someone...did someone get hit with these three spells?"
Ginny looked at Ron, then at the empty tunnel behind them, then back at her. Her eyes held a sort of fearful resignation. "It was Harry, wasn't it?"
Hermione nodded, and Ginny bit back a cry.
"He might now…he might've just…" Ron stammered. "Certainly it wasn't...time travel!" He looked at Hermione incredulously. "How…?"
"We brought you the books so you can do more research on your own," Neville said. "Hopefully you can find some things for sure."
Hermione bit her lip and nodded. "If he did time travel," she said slowly. "We have to find where he went."
Ginny nodded rapidly, but Neville looked less appeased. "There was one more thing that Cho said about it," he started cautiously.
Hermione looked at him expectantly.
Neville gulped. "She said that...that the results can't be reversed."
Hermione and Ron looked at each other. Somehow, without words, they were able to agree on one thing.
"We'll still find him," said Ron firmly.
"So you'll go back in time, too," said Ginny.
Hermione let out a breath. "Yes. If we have to. We can't leave Harry by himself."
"Of course," said Ginny.
Neville stared at them. "Then this might be goodbye forever."
Hermione blinked. Tears came to her eyes, not just for her long-time friend, but for everything, all around them. The world was so, so bad right now. But how could she choose to leave all of it?
"It might be goodbye forever," she repeated.
So, without anyone really knowing what was coming next, they said their goodbyes. They knew their time here, in the secret passageway, was short. After only a few simple words, Hermione and Ron had to turn away, back towards Hogsmeade, back toward Remus and the Order, back toward the War outside. But Ginny and Neville didn't turn back toward Hogwarts, not yet.
"Ron," Ginny called after them in a small voice.
"Yes?" he said, turning back around.
Ginny had grown into a tough, strong woman, strong enough to fight a war, to lead a revolution inside the castle. But right now, with worry brimming in her eyes, she looked once more like a small, scared child.
"I heard that the Burrow was attacked," she said softly. "Do you know…?"
"Mum made it to safety," he replied, his voice hollow, as if he were reciting something out of a history textbook. "We're going to meet her now. Fred and George are there, too. But Dad and Charlie...and Bill. we don't know where they are."
Her breath hitched. For a moment that strong, headstrong girl looked like she had no clue what to do next.
Hermione didn't need time to think about what she was going to do next. She dumped the books into Ron's arms and reached forward to grab Ginny by the wrist.
"Come with us," she said earnestly. "You can see your mum, and then maybe if we...have to go...you can come with us."
Ginny's breath hitched again. Her eyes went wide. Then some of her usual composure came back, and she nodded.
"I will," she said resolutely. She turned to Neville. "Will the DA be okay without me?"
"We'll miss you for sure," said Neville, his voice filled with understanding. "But we'll do just fine on our own."
She nodded again, then pulled Neville into a hug. He stiffened at first but then relaxed, hugging her back as if he were her brother, just as much as Ron was. Then Ginny pulled away, quickly wiped some tears from her eyes, and turned back to Ron and Hermione.
"Let's go," she said firmly.
Hermione nodded and took the books back from Ron. Neville turned one way and Hermione, Ron, and Ginny turned the other. They were headed off toward different futures, both of which might save the world, or end it.
A/N: This chapter really got away from me! I sat down planning to write a brief 1997 segment, then move on to 1993, but this chapter just kept growing and changing until it was something I hadn't planned on at all - but deeper and more heartbreaking than I could've planned! When I started this story I was planning to focus mostly on 1993, with only some brief asides set in 1997. But I have become so attached to the plot and characters of 1997 that they've kind of taken over my story! If you like the 1993 storyline, though, never fear - I will get the next chapter out soon, and you should see plenty of 1993 there. Let me know your thoughts in the comments, please!
Thanks for reading!
