An: The writing muses wouldn't stop until this chapter was written. Just got a sudden bout of inspiration. There is a lot of POV shifts in this chapter.

Chapter 11:

The New Year went by without any fuss, both Harry and Hermione had pulled the short straw for shifts and worked through it. Now it was the 5th, Hermione had her advancement exam yesterday and had become a junior healer. She hadn't told Harry that she'd been working too advance in the ranks, she knew if she wasn't at least a junior healer before her child was born that she'd have to restart her training. Now she wouldn't have to, as long as St. Mungo's didn't discriminate against her and fire her as soon as her condition became common knowledge.

"Healer Evans, you're on the children's ward today, congratulations on finishing your training. I think only Healer Longbottom completed her healing in less time," Marjorie Peters, the head of staffing said passing Hermione her new credentials and robes.

"Thanks Marjorie. I'm just excited to start working. Have a nice day."

Walking at a brisk pace Hermione headed to the junior locker rooms, she needed to change quickly and then head into work. She was on the afternoon shift today, much better than morning since her morning sickness had started with a vengeance. Luckily she was one of the few whose morning sickness truly was only in the morning, at least for the time being.

She had only just finished changing when she heard the first scream. As soon as Hermione heard more screams in the hallways and the sirens warning of the attack she knew what was happening. It was the January 1978 attack on Saint Mungo's the day that Fabian and Gideon Prewett were murdered protecting the staff and patients of the hospital. They along with 3 other Aurors were destined to die today, beside them the bodies of six children under the age of 10 would be found. The Aurors having died trying to protect the children.

Hermione knew she couldn't let the attack happen the way it had in her own time. After everything the Weasley family had done for her if she could help them by saving Molly's brothers she would. Besides she had never been the type to stand aside when people were in danger.

Shifting into her animagus form she darted through the doors of the ward only seconds before it shut behind her, the emergency protocol shutting it down. Only the head of each ward or brute overpowered force would be able to get through now. With her heightened senses Hermione could hear her new boss Healer Acrombie cursing behind her, but she pressed on praying that she could be of some help to change the course of history.

Running through the halls on all fours was still odd, but it heightened her senses to lead her to where the battle was taking place. At least since her animagus form was a part of her it wasn't dangerous to shift well pregnant. She was following the noise, but also the slightly familiar scent that she hoped was one of the Prewett twins.

As she raced around the corner Hermione growled as she saw a masked Death Eater preparing to send a curse at the back of a tall red-haired man, she didn't even hesitate before she was leaping forward and taking his wand hand into her mouth crunching down snapping bones. His screams hurt her ears, but she didn't let go until his wand crumbled out of his hand and slammed her paw down on top of it, grinning as she heard the sound of the wood breaking in two. When the man tried to lunge for her, she headbutted him watching as he collapsed on the ground.

Hermione could smell the terror of the Death Eaters at the sudden appearance of a white tiger that was becoming stained in blood. On one hand they most likely realized she was an animagus, but on another their instincts would still be screaming at them to run seeing her from with blood dripping from her teeth.

Knowing she was faster in this form, not to mention it was safer for her child to fight this way, she weaved her way through fighting figures, snapping wands from hands of those she was certain were Death Eaters. It was war, so the poor form of going after wands didn't bother her, the Death Eaters would just use them to kill others later, and for the most part it would make it easier for the Aurors to fight. There weren't many Death Eaters proficient in wandless magic. Hermione knew Snape and Bellatrix could, but she was familiar enough with their scents that she would have realized if they were here. Plus Snape was with Lily now becoming a spy, so she knew that Voldemort wouldn't want to risk blowing Snape's cover, thinking that the other man was on his side.

Once Hermione was certain that she had done what she could as an animagus she allowed herself to shift back into her human form, crouching down beside the children, moving her wand in the familiar ward patterns she had used to protect the camp when they had been on the run. Only once she was sure they were safe did she move to assess their injuries. "Hi guys I'm Healer Evans, is anyone hurt really badly?"

"You were just a tiger?" A small boy said fear in his voice.

"Yes I'm what's known as an animagus. Right now though I need to know if anyone is hurt?"

"No, we're ok, are the bad guys going to hurt us?"

"No sweetheart. The Aurors can finish fighting them now. My wards are very powerful, the bad man can't break through them. Now I know you said you aren't hurt, but I'm going to double check with some spells, sometimes being really scared can make you not feel the pain. You won't feel anything from my spells, just see a pretty blue light that will turn pink if you're hurt anywhere, red for a really bad injury. If it stays blue you are fine."

She wished she had some lollipops in her robes, but since she'd literally only just got these ones, she wasn't prepared to deal with giving scared children a treat. Starting with the smallest form, a little girl with white blonde hair, Hermione moved her wand in the familiar diagnosing pattern, only relaxing when each child came back clear of injuries. Since the attack had only just started it seems that she had gotten here in time to protect the children.


Gideon POV

Ever since the war had begun Gideon had believed he was going to die, he was an Auror and a blood traitor both having their own separate death sentences. He was a proud member of the Order of the Phoenix, an Uncle, brother, and a twin. He had a good life, he had just always hoped that if he did die, he didn't die before Fabian, he wasn't sure that he'd survive losing his twin. It was his boggart his twin dying leaving him behind, a broken shell of himself.

He wasn't really sure what had convinced him to come into St. Mungo's today instead of watching outside, but he'd just gotten a feeling that he was needed inside. Gideon was glad he had because he wasn't sure what would have happened to those children if Fabian and he hadn't arrived when they did. They'd done their best to herd the children behind them, but with how suddenly the attack had come, and needing to protect the children they couldn't call for backup. He was completely prepared to die, only hoping they'd last long enough that backup would come, St. Mungo's was on lockdown, someone must have summoned the Aurors. They just had to keep fighting.

When the white tiger had appeared, Gideon thought he was hallucinating from lack of blood, that he was imaging a savior, but still he didn't stop fighting. Smiling savagely as he heard the Death Eaters screaming in pain and shock as strong jaws clamped down on their wand hands, he relished the sound of their wands snapping. He knew it wasn't protocol to snap wands, but he knew that no one would be angry at the white tiger animagus when they found out that the Death Eaters had attacked six children, the youngest being two year old Artemis Malfoy. The Malfoys had been on the fence of joining the Death Eaters and Gideon was certain this was a warning to them.

Whoever the white tiger was they were fast, dodging inbetween the Death Eaters, staying out of his and Fabien's way. It brought hope back to him and Fabian, they used stunning spells to knock out the Death Eaters whose wand's had been snapped, you could never be too careful. When the numbers seemed to get more manageable the white tiger stepped back, a young woman with wild brown hair appearing in the tiger's place, she crouched down in front of the children her own hand going protectively to her stomach. The gleam in her eyes, before she started putting up wards that obscured her and the children from her sights, made him think she would have done a lot worse to the Death Eaters if children hadn't been watching. She was a pregnant witch whose instincts screamed for her to protect the children, instincts that must have been heightened when she was in her animagus form.

"That was wicked Gid, now that she's taken out most of the rabble, let's deal with the rest," Fabian said a brilliant smirk on his face. It seemed Gideon wouldn't be dying today. He just hoped the witch would be willing to accept their thanks later on. It would be a shame if he couldn't find out just who their savior had been.

"Let's dance fella's," he said a deadly smirk on his own face as he wielded his magic, his hope renewed that they would win.

In the end there were 30 Death Eaters in total incapacitated in front of them. They'd sealed the teeth marks the tigress had left behind to keep the Death Eaters from bleeding out, just to make sure they didn't have more paperwork to do. Dead wizards and witches, even those who were clearly Death Eaters, never made the Minster happy.

Not sure if the witch could hear them or even see them, he just sat outside her wards waiting for backup to arrive to help process the Death Eaters. It was too difficult to transfer this many prisoners with only two Aurors. Fabian had used his Patronus to report the attack and ask for additional Aurors. He wasn't sure how long it might take, if Harry's thoughts had been right there might have been two other coordinated attacks today.

"We should move them into one area, they're kind of all over the place, it will make it easier to guard them well we wait."

"Good idea Gid. We should probably add an incarcerous as well, just in case the stunning wears off."

"Right you are Fab." Using levitation spells they moved the Death Eaters into a corner, maneuvering their bodies so they were slumped against the wall, ropes holding their arms behind their backs, as well as connecting the prisoners together. Gideon even added a sticking spell to the wall for good measure. Fabian stood at the other side of the line of Death Eaters his eyes trained on them as he kept an eye out for any movement, whether it was backup for them or the Death Eaters.

They waited for hours. The wards in the corner of the room never faltering. The witch not willing to release her spells, or maybe she didn't know they had captured everyone. Gideon wasn't quite sure, but since they were still in lockdown it might be smart that she was keeping the children behind such strong wards. Honestly if Gideon hadn't seen them go up he wouldn't even know they were there, there wasn't even a shimmer of magic showing something was hidden. Whoever this witch was it was clear she was quite strong magically.


Harry's POV

He'd been right about the attacks, he was only glad that there were minimal casualties, unfortunately 4 civilian shoppers had died, and seven Aurors. He had known from the start that in a place like Diagon Alley that the attack wouldn't be without death. Those idiots had set a fire in the corner of the Alley, making it look natural to draw attention there first, it had been pandemonium when the Death Eaters appeared.

A few of the Aurors hadn't realized it was an attack because of the fire and had been taken out quickly, being sent directly into the flames, Harry could still hear their screams and smell the burning flesh. After that it had been a whirlwind of spells. The only thing he could do was make sure he protected James's back. He, James, and Sirius had all been together when the attack had started, the three had decided not to separate to make sure they had each other's backs.

The look on James's face when he had first saw someone die in front of him would be ingrained in Harry's brain forever. Until today James had never seen someone die, it was an innocence he and Sirius would never get back.

Luckily the fire hadn't spread too far and wasn't hard to get under control once they were no longer fighting for their lives, it turned out Gabriel Flourish was really good at controlling fire, and the elderly bookstore owner had spent the entire attack fighting to keep the fire under his control. He wasn't good with water, so he'd expended a tonne of energy keeping the fire from spreading. It was lucky the old man hadn't passed out from magical exhaustion.

"You did good today, all of you," Mad-Eye said he'd arrived after the fighting was over his robes showing sign of spell wear, but the dragonhide of his Auror robes seemed to have protected him from the spells he hadn't managed to dodge. "Evans good call on the conference. It would have been a massacre if we hadn't been there. Now go check on that sister of yours, you can bring Mr. Flourish to be checked out on the way. I'm certain she wouldn't have dared leave, not without being shooed away when there's so many needing her help. Potter, Black, go with him. You two can help the Prewett's bring their prisoners in."

Despite how calm Mad-Eye sounded Harry knew he was worried about Hermione. It was just shocking that he wasn't the one to go and check on her instead. Giving Mad-Eye a nod he twisted in the spot. The lockdown was still in place at St. Mungo's, so they had to send a Patronus to Augusta to get her to meet them. She was a department head and had the magical key to override the lockdown.

"Today was hell, but on the bright side we can finally meet your mysterious sister," Sirius said, although his heart didn't seem really in it today. His eyes were lacking their usual shine, Harry just hoped it was a temporary thing and it would come back soon.

"If she's not busy. She's not a trainee now, she took her advancement yesterday and aced it, she's a junior healer now. Shocked me when she came home announcing it. I knew she had a test coming up, but she didn't tell me she was working to advance so early. No wonder she's been such a terror with studying lately."

At least she hadn't burnt out. Harry just didn't understand why she didn't tell him what she was up to. It's not like it was something to be ashamed of. Although maybe she rightly believed that he would have tried to talk her out of doing it so soon, but he could see why she wanted as much healing knowledge as she could get. Hermione never wanted to be stuck on how to save someone again.

"That's insane. Your sister must be a genius," James said awe in his voice.

"She finished the muggle equivalent of Hogwarts by the time she was nine or ten years old, she's always been insanely bright, makes it a bit hard for her to open up to people."

"Well I hope we can meet her today, even if it's just for a moment. Oh there's Augusta. Good evening, how did you all fair today?"

"No casualties. We were able to get the lockdown up in time. Those assholes breached the children's ward, we've been looking for some of the children ever since. Found a few hidden in cupboards or under their beds. It seems that Aurors Fabian and Gideon Prewett were able to get to the Death Eaters quickly, it was pure luck since they weren't with anyone who could override the lockdown. I haven't made my way there yet, they sent me a Patronus saying it was best to wait just in case there was another breach. So that area hasn't been inspected yet. We still have a few children and a junior healer out there."

The look she gave Harry had him groaning, "Hermione tried to run into the action didn't she?!"

"Healer Evans did get through before the wards slid into place. We haven't had contact with her since, although I'm fairly certain she's safe. The Prewett's mentioned seeing a young woman put up ward around herself and six children. It was a quick message, so I'm not sure of their states, but since Fabian's message was calm, I believe they are alright."

Only his sister would run towards Death Eaters instead of away. She always did hate seeing children dragged into war. Even if she was hypocritical since she'd been fighting beside his side since they were eleven. Although maybe it was hypocrisy but wanting to make sure those younger than herself didn't have the same experiences she did growing up.


James POV

Following Augusta, James had to wonder again what Harry's sister was like that he expected that she'd run into danger. If she was so willing to fight, why did she become a healer?

When they arrived in the room where Gideon and Fabian were standing guard around a group of thirty Death Eaters tied up and stuck to the wall he had to hold in a laugh. It was just hilarious seeing the people who wished to inspire terror in others in such a comical position. He knew he shouldn't be finding humor in this, he had watched people die today, but then again if he couldn't still find humor in live then being an Auror would just kill everything that made him who he was.

"Where is she?" Harry asked his eyes scanning the corners as if he thought she'd appear out of thin air.

"If you're talking about the young woman she's still behind the wards."

Harry got a dark look on his face, "must have used a higher version or she would have come out the moment she saw my face. Expecto Patronum," James had to hold in a gasp seeing the stag. It was like looking at a mirror of Prongs, "Hermione Jean, get your butt out here so I can yell at you in person." Most likely he wanted to say something a lot worse, but was censoring himself because of the children that were with her.

James watched as the stag galloped forward before it shimmered out of existence, only moments later he could see glowing as wards were revealed. A dark figure behind them as they moved their wand to take them down. He barely paid attention as Sirius left with the Prewett twins to bring the Death Eaters into custody.

When they were torn down only two minutes later James had to stop himself from falling over, it was her, it was his mystery witch. Bloody hell! His mystery witch was Harry's sister! Harry was going to kill him! He'd gotten Harry's sister pregnant!


Hermione's POV

"Hermione Jean, get your butt out here so I can yell at you in person," Prongs stated in Harry's voice. The kids were looking at the stag in awe.

"Will you be ok Mina?" Joey Blott asked her, they hadn't been able to pronounce Hermione, so they had all started to call her Mina. They'd been stuck together for several hours, but the children hadn't fussed once. Just curled up beside her as she told them stories about her and Harry's adventures as children. Of course edited so they didn't know she was talking about her own experiences.

"It's fine Joey, my brother is just worried. He gets all blustery like a bear when he's worried about the people he loves, but if he's out there it means it's safe to come out now."

Standing up, groaning as her legs protested standing up so suddenly after sitting on the floor for so long, once she was steady she started to weave her wand in the complex pattern needed to take down the wards. Keeping an eye on the children as she did to make sure they didn't try to move before she was finished taking the wards down. Smiling as they just all stood perfectly still watching the wards shimmer like a rainbow as they fell down around them.

Her wards were barely down before she was hit by Harry's body as he flung himself into her arms. "What were you thinking 'Mione?! I thought you being a healer meant I wouldn't have to worry about you being in danger anymore." Putting her hand into his hair she hugged him back, just happy to see that he was alright. She hadn't let herself think of how dangerous it was for an Auror during these attacks.

"I'm fine Harry, I'm right here. I think these kids need to get back to their rooms though. Hi Augusta."

"Are you always this insubordinate?"

"Can't be insubordination Augusta when this wasn't forbidden," she said with a grin.

It was only when she moved her eyes off of Augusta that she froze realizing just who else was in the room. James Potter and by the look he was giving her stomach he knew she was pregnant. She didn't know how since she wasn't showing yet, but he knew.

"Hermione this is my fellow trainee Auror James Potter, James my older sister Healer Hermione Evans."

"A pleasure," she said even though she felt it was anything but. What was he going to say? Would he tell Harry they'd already met? Would he mention the baby?!

Seeming to unfreeze he came towards her, giving her an uneasy smile before he bowed in front of her taking her hand into his before his lips met the back of her hand, "enchanted to meet you."

Hermione could only stare over his head at Harry wide eyed who just looked amused. She wasn't sure if amusement was better then Harry wanting to be sick or kill James. It was all up in the air.

What was she going to do!? She had never thought she'd run into James like this or that he'd know she was pregnant when they did. Merlin and Morgana she was screwed!